Hector “Macho” Camacho is brain dead, according to a statement by his doctors on Thursday. The famed Puerto Rican boxer has been fighting for his life since he was shot in the face on Tuesday night.
Camacho’s doctors added that, despite him being declared brain dead, the boxer’s family is disagreeing on whether or not they will take him off life support, reports USA Today .
Dr. Ermesto Torres stated that doctors have completed every medical test they need to do on the famed boxer before making the declaration. Torres, the director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, stated:
“We have done everything we could. We have to tell the people of Puerto Rico and the entire world that Macho Camacho has died, he is brain dead.”
Camacho’s family is expected to announce on Friday whether the former boxer will be taken off life support or not. The Los Angeles Times notes that the boxer’s father would like to have him taken off life support and his organs donated, but one of his sisters is opposed to the idea.
Ismael Leandry, a longtime friend and manager of Hector Camacho, added that the boxer’s mother is also not convinced it is time to remove her son from life support, because she would like some more time with him. The family is waiting for Camacho’s oldest son to arrive on Thursday evening before making the decision.
Camacho and a friend, Adrian Mojica Moreno, were shot on Tuesday night while they sat in a Ford Mustang parked outside a bar. The bullet entered the former boxer’s jaw and passed through three of four main arteries in his neck before lodging in his shoulder. Moreno was killed.
Doctors initially believed the famed boxer would pull through, despite the grave injury, but his condition worsened and his heart briefly stopped overnight on Tuesday.
With Hector “Macho” Camacho being declared brain dead, it will likely not be long before he is taken off life support.
