Hector Camacho was involved in one of the greatest fights of his era in 1986, years before retiring two legends of the sport.
Hector Camacho defeated Roberto Duran in 1996, but retired him years later when he bested the legend for a second time in 2001.
Camacho also retired Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997, and finished his own career with a record of 79-6-3.
Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez were two men who were able to beat him.
One man who came just shy, but who gave more than his best effort, was Edwin Rosario.
“Camacho was never the same fighter”… Hector Camacho defeated Edwin Rosario but changed as a man
In 1986, Camacho faced Edwin Rosario in New York, USA.
The fight was a gruelling one, and went the full 12 rounds with much back and forth. According to BoxRec, Camacho even said after the fight that he would only fight Rosario again if he were heavily compensated: “If I fight him again, I want a million dollars. If I’m gonna come out looking like a Cabbage Patch doll, I want to get paid for it.”
Wallace Matthews of ESPN suggested that the absolute war between the two men changed Camacho, putting it succinctly:
“Camacho was never the same fighter. He still boxed like an angel, but when the going got rough, he ran like the devil. He took no chances. And unless he was absolutely sure that his opponent had been declawed, he rarely went in for the knockout.”
Hector Camacho was retired by a man who accrued a record of 40-20
In 2010, Camacho finally retired after dropping a unanimous decision loss to Saul Duran, who was 36-16-2 at the time.
Camacho’s long career and history of wars had caught up to him, and it was finally time to pack it in.
Duran, meanwhile, fought on, accruing a record of 40-20-2. He was retired by Andy Lee, who now trains Joseph Parker and Hamzah Sheeraz.