Mean Streets Helped Camacho Jr. Refine Skills

It wasn’t much money for the work and risk involved.

Sometimes Hector “Macho” Camacho had $5 in his pocket, sometimes $10, sometimes more. The payoffs he offered kids to fight his son, Hector Jr., in the streets of Spanish Harlem varied with his cash flow and mood.

The hungriest, or most foolish, usually stepped up.

“It wasn’t something that happened often,” Camacho Jr. said. “He would go away to train and come back after fights and try to toughen me up.

“My dad used to tell me I was going to be a [sissy] because I was pretty much raised by my mom and aunt and grandma.”

The bouts were fixed. Camacho Jr. was not allowed to unload on the challengers, with the father stepping in as soon as the son started to get the upper hand.

“That stuff used to upset me,” Camacho Jr. said. “But I really fought because I wanted to fight.”

*

Salsa music from a cassette player in the nondescript storefront gym in Van Nuys spills into the street, with passersby sometimes peeking through the open front door before moving on quickly, their curiosity satisfied.

Camacho Jr. is pounding a heavy bag, the sound of the blows blending almost rhythmically with the songs.

Thump-thump. Muevete, muevete. Thump-thump. Muevete, muevete. Thump-thump. . . .

Sweat is drenching Camacho Jr.’s sleeveless T-shirt as he dances around the bag in black spandex pants partially covered by black trunks, the gloves landing swift combinations. His concentration never wavers, his eyes never shift from the target.

Camacho Jr., 21, is determined to make his mark in pro boxing. He is the World Boxing Assn. North American super-lightweight champion and carries a 27-0 record with 16 knockouts into a 10-round junior-welterweight bout with Manard Reed at The Regent in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Training with Joe Goossen in Van Nuys, Camacho Jr. is following the footsteps of his father, the former world champion in three weight divisions and hell raiser who, at 38, is still fighting.

“He’s really, really got the potential to be a great champion,” Goossen said.

For Camacho Jr., the comparisons to his father are constant, the connection forever established by name and blood.

“At first, I was bothered [by the comparisons],” Camacho Jr. said. “But now it motivates me. I try to use it to my advantage. If they say I’m not better than my father, I say, ‘Screw it. You’ll see.’ If they say I’m better than my father, that’s great.”

*

Camacho Jr., a left-hander like his father, wants the comparisons limited to the ring.

Quiet and unassuming, Camacho Jr. is a far cry from his flamboyant father. He lives in Puerto Rico with his fiancee, Cielo Maysonet, and their 1 1/2-year-old daughter, Shaniah.

He is focused on becoming a world champion and stays clear of trouble, unlike his father, whose rap sheet includes aggravated assault, cocaine possession and driving with a suspended license.

And there were the women and the parties.

“I stay away from the streets and negative people and the leeches,” Camacho Jr. said.

Camacho Jr. learned the trappings of boxing at an early age. He started fighting at 8 in a boys’ club in New York and honed his skills at the impromptu street bouts arranged by his father.

“I always wanted to pursue boxing,” Camacho Jr. said. “I went to my father’s training camps, his fights. I’ve seen it all.”

The family moved to Orlando, Fla., in 1992 and Camacho Jr. rose through the amateur ranks, winning 59 of 61 fights and several major championships before turning pro four years ago. In his pro debut, Camacho Jr. defeated Lou Martinez in a four-round decision in October, 1996.

Camacho Jr. won the WBA North American super-lightweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Miguel Angel Ruiz of Mexico in July and defended the belt with a first-round knockout of Harold Warren in February.

He is focused on beating Reed (20-1, 14 KOs) on Sunday and working toward a world title with the help of Goossen, who has a stellar record refining southpaws, including Joel Casamayor, WBA super-featherweight champion, and Michael Nunn, the WBC’s top-ranked light-heavyweight and former WBA super-middleweight champion.

“I look at all the southpaws out there and I see a kid who’s really mastering the style,” Goossen said of Camacho Jr. “He’s got that built-in advantage.”

Some kids in New York learned that a few years ago.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FIGHT NIGHT

HECTOR CAMACHO JR.

(27-0, 16 knockouts)

vs.

MANARD REED

(20-1, 14 knockouts)

10-round, junior-welterweight bout

Sunday at The Regent in Las Vegas