Hector “Macho” Camacho passed away this morning at the age of 50.
The Puerto Rican boxer was shot in the face earlier this week outside of a bar in the city of Bayamon. He was taken off life support this morning at the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan.
The Chicago Tribune reports that friends and family gathered for a vigil on Friday night after Hector’s mother said that she had decided to take Camacho, who was left clinically brain dead from the shooting, off of life support. Hector’s mother waited until all of Hector’s sons had arrived at the hospital to say goodbye.
Maria Matias said:
“I lost my son three days ago… He’s alive only because of a machine. My son is not alive. My son is only alive for the people who love him.”
Camacho and his friend Adrian Mojica Moreno were shot while sitting in a car outside of a bar in Bayamon on Tuesday night. Police Police spokesman Alex Diaz said that they found nine small bags of cocaine on Moreno and another bag in the car. Moreno died at the scene of the shooting.
The Puerto Rican boxer started his career in 1980 and continued to fight until 2010. He won four world titles (a featherweight, lightweight, and two welterweight championships) and fought some of the biggest names in boxing like Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya.
Former featherweight champion and childhood friend Juan Laporte said:
“A lot of people think of him as a cocky person but that was his motto… inside he was just a kid looking for something. He’s a good human being, a good hearted person,”
