Hector Macho Camacho is critical and reportedly near death one day after being shot in his Puerto Rican hometown.
The former boxing champion is clinging to life as fans already begun to mourn the loss of the celebrated but often troubled fighter, The Associated Press noted . Doctors said that while Camacho has intermittent brain activity, the outlook is not good.
“We can’t declare him brain dead,” said Dr.Ernesto Torres. “We’re going to ask the people of Puerto Rico to keep praying.”
News that Macho Camacho is critical seems to contradict reports from Tuesday, when ESPN reported that a representative for the boxer said he was expected to live. Macho Camacho’s condition grew more critical overnight, when his heart stopped at one point.
Doctors are set to perform additional tests early on Thursday, but said that the former boxer doesn’t have enough blood reaching his brain.
Camacho was shot as he and a friend sat in a car parked outside a bar. The friend, who was killed in the attack, had nine small bags of cocaine in his pocket with a tenth open in the car, a police spokesman said.
Police have made no arrests in the attack.
During his time as a fighter Camacho battled demons, including addictions and run-ins with the law. In 2007 he was convicted of burglary of a computer store in Mississippi and sentenced to seven years in prison, though it was later reduced to a one-year sentence.
With Macho Camacho still in critical condition, his family is reportedly considering whether to take him off life support and setting up organ donation.
