Former Boxer Bobby Chacon Surfaces in Arizona

Bobby Chacon, a two-time world boxing champion missing since July 6, called his family from Arizona Wednesday afternoon after learning police in two states were searching for him.

Chacon, 41, had left the Pacoima home he shares with his mother July 2 for Arizona with a friend. He had called home July 6. But his family had not heard from him again until Wednesday, after he walked into the San Manuel, Ariz., sheriff’s office and identified himself.

A 1970s featherweight champion who fought under the nickname “Schoolboy,” Chacon was one of the most exciting fighters produced in the Southland in the last 50 years.

He came out of the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970s with a world of talent. He stopped 21 of his first 24 opponents and gained a piece of the world featherweight championship at 22 in 1974. He lost the title in his first defense, to Mexican hero Ruben Olivares, but remained a Southland headliner for several years.

In 1983, in one of his most memorable fights, he fought from the brink of defeat to win a decision over Cornelius Boza-Edwards. In his previous fight, he had won a junior-lightweight championship by beating Rafael (Bazooka) Limon.

In recent years, Chacon has experienced hard times. Friends say he has suffered from memory lapses, thought to be related to his 15-year, 67-bout boxing career.

So when he was unaccounted for for eight days, police were called. Chacon’s estranged wife, Deborah, reported him missing to Los Angeles police. Sylvia Ramos, wife of former boxer and Chacon’s friend, Mando Ramos, said Chacon’s long absence wasn’t characteristic of him.

“Bobby is a hyper guy, he likes to talk to people, to communicate . . . this isn’t like him,” Sylvia Ramos said, hours before Chacon presented himself at a sheriff’s station.

Dolores Banegas, a half-sister, said: “He called us at 1 o’clock and told us he was fine. He was embarrassed, and sorry so many people had worried about him. He’s been on a ranch near Tucson.”

Chacon told Los Angeles police detective Ken McCourt he had been “hiding out” because of marital problems.