Macho Time: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of Hector Camacho (Gift Edition)

by Christian Giudice, Carlos Acevedo (Foreword by)

Overview

“In yet another skillful excavation of a dazzling Latino champion, Christian Giudice...follows Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho from his embattled childhood in Spanish Harlem, to the heights of his electrifying yet too-brief stardom and onto his abject end by hail of gunfire in a carful of cocaine. It is a compelling journey.”—Mark Kram Jr., author of Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier

Hector Camacho lived fast, and his fists flew even faster in the ring. Handsome, flamboyant, and outspoken, Camacho electrified the boxing scene of the 1980s and, shouting his mantra “Macho Time”, he beat some of the greatest fighters of his generation.

But his high-speed life caught up with him eventually―and tragically―when he was shot dead outside a nightclub in Puerto Rico at the age of fifty. Macho Time is written by Christian Giudice, author of Hands of Stone, the definitive biography of Roberto Duran, which was made into the motion picture of the same name starring Robert De Niro.

Macho Time is the first biography of Hector Camacho Sr. Camacho's son, Hector Camacho Jr., also a professional boxer, worked closely with author Christian Giudice to give him unprecedented access and insight into this complex man.

I thought I was cocky. Camacho surpasses me by three or four levels. But when Camacho brags, he’s not trying to convince you of anything; he’s just telling you what’s going to happen.”—Sugar Ray Leonard, from the pages of Macho Time

“He would give me a hug and a kiss, then he would sit on the couch and make everyone laugh so hard. He had such good energy and spirit. He brought such joy to people whenever he entered a room. It was a gift.”—Hector Camacho Jr., from Afterword of Macho Time

SPECIAL GIFT EDITION!

This gift hardcover edition of Macho Time is as flamboyant as the man himself. Covered in leopard print and gold foil, it features an audacious all-leopard case, a blinding reproduction of Hector Camacho’s iconic “MACHO” gold chain on the dust jacket, and endpapers printed with poster-size duotone photos that pay tribute to the Puerto Rican American legend. A work of art that will dazzle both boxing fans and book lovers alike. It’s still Macho Time!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949590135
Publisher:	Hamilcar Publications
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Christian Giudice was born in Haddonfield, NJ. He currently lives in Charlotte, NC and teaches English at Harper Middle College High School. A Villanova graduate, Christian has written Hands of Stone: The Life and Legend of Roberto Duran, whose subject was the focus of a motion picture, Beloved Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Alexis Arguello and A Fire Burns Within: The Miraculous Journey of Wilfredo Gomez. Christian is also the author of the forthcoming book Macho Time: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of Hector Camacho (Hamilcar Publications 2020).

Carlos Acevedo is the author of The Duke: The Life and Lies of Tommy Morrison and Sporting Blood: Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing, both published by Hamilcar Publications. His work has appeared in Boxing News, Hannibal Boxing, The Ring, Inside HBO Boxing, and Boxing Digest. His stories “A Darkness Made to Order,” “A Ghost Orbiting Forever,” and “The Duke of the West Side” all won first-place awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword Carlos Acevedo ix

1 "It's Macho Time" 1

2 A New Life Begins in Spanish Harlem 5

3 Between the Streets and the Gym 15

4 Bringing in the Wheel 23

5 A Bright Light Shines in the Projects 35

6 Navigating the Ring and Rikers 39

7 A Path to Glory 43

8 Facing Bazooka 67

9 A Champion's Grind 83

10 Leaving Billy 93

11 Pure Perfection 109

12 Stand and Deliver 117

13 Haunted by Rosario 145

14 Waiting for Bramble 153

15 A Star Dims 163

16 The All-American versus the Street Punk 181

17 Against Pazienza 191

18 Being Macho Again 207

19 Haggling with Haugen 213

20 Entering the Danger Zone 231

21 Back Where It All Started 257

Afterword: Hector Camacho Jr. 267

Sources 271

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

Sportswriter Giudice (A Fire Burns Within) takes an affecting warts-and-all look at the life of boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho (1962–2012), who survived a difficult childhood to become a world champion before his lifelong struggle with addiction led to his murder at the age of 50. Camacho was born in Puerto Rico; his mother took the children to New York to escape their abusive father, but he followed them. Before he was five, Camacho began to hit his father to protect his mother. Camacho’s prowess as a young street fighter (“Macho was always Macho... lovable, crazy, always crazy,” according to his sister) led to his becoming a promising boxing prospect as a teen, and a three-time Golden Gloves champion. His talents, which included “blazing hand and foot speed,” brought him success in the ring, though Giudice notes he made “a career of integrating illegal tactics into his game plan,” such as lunging before glove touch and spinning opponents. Despite lucrative paydays and celebrity, Camacho never overcame his drug addiction or saved his winnings, and he periodically ran into legal trouble, including imprisonment at Rikers for joyriding. And when he was found shot to death in a parked car, the car also held ten bags of cocaine. Giudice’s take on the complicated fighter will move even those who’ve never tuned into a boxing match. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho…survived a difficult childhood to become a world champion before his lifelong struggle with addiction led to his murder at the age of 50. Giudice’s take on the complicated fighter will move even those who’ve never tuned into a boxing match.”—Publishers Weekly

“The first full-length biography of the legendary boxer…with a penchant for flamboyant outfits and behavior that won him both fans and foes. Giudice writes with sensitivity about Camacho's lifelong struggle with drugs and excessive partying that robbed him of a chance at true greatness…Boxing fans who remember the ascendant days of lighter-weight fighters such as Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio César Chávez, and Oscar De La Hoya will want to read.”—Library Journal

“Camacho’s ring exploits are only part of his story…Giudice does a solid job of reporting…Entertaining and as thorough a biography as we’re likely to see of this manchild who could have been a great fighter but became a cautionary tale instead.”—Thomas Hauser, Boxing News

"In his new book from Hamilar Publications, experienced boxing writer Christian Giudice takes the reader along Camacho’s bumpy, exhilarating, but ultimately tragic ride from a shack in Bayamon, Puerto Rico to Spanish Harlem, to global stardom, to that Mustang passenger seat in San Juan, where shots pierced through the night of late November, 2012. Throughout this, the first comprehensive biography of Camacho’s life, Giudice speaks candidly about the boxer and the man in and out of the ring, via exclusive interviews with Sugar Ray Leonard, Freddie Roach, and Héctor Camacho Jr. Héctor Camacho’s story and persona is as magnetic in death as it was in life...Make time for Macho Time"—Jack Porter, The Sportsman

“In yet another skillful excavation of a dazzling Latino champion, Christian Giudice—the author of acclaimed biographies of Roberto Duran, Alexis Arguello and Wilfredo Gomez—follows Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho from his embattled childhood in Spanish Harlem, to the heights of his electrifying yet too-brief stardom and onto his abject end by hail of gunfire in a carful of cocaine. It is a compelling journey.”—Mark Kram Jr., author of Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier

“The bullets that eventually found Hector Camacho had shadowed him throughout his tempestuous life. In this penetrating biography, Christian Giudice reveals the showman, the artist, the clown and the assassin—the erratic family man and the pride of Spanish Harlem. The Macho Man was a blazing comet streaking across the sky, bringing brilliance and destruction, then disappearing all too soon.”—Mike Stanton, author of Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano’s Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World

“All of boxing’s dark romance is here. The raw material of Hector Camacho’s wild, sad yet sometimes stellar life expertly distilled and movingly told.”—Jon Hotten, author of The Years of the Locust: A True Story of Murder, Money and Mayhem in the Last Age of Boxing

“A tale of a fighter who, regardless of his talents and his achievements, struggled with his past…Giudice does a very good job of describing not only what Macho achieved in the ring, but also the wasted potential of his career…A fascinating story.”—FightPost

“Giudice doesn’t pull any punches with his latest book… The 320-page read is as hard hitting as one of the southpaw’s punches and as colorful as the leopard print boxing trunks he famously wore.”—Cherry Hill Courier-Post

From the Publisher

08/28/2020

Veteran boxing writer Giudice (Hands of Stone: The Life and Legend of Roberto Duran) chronicles of life of Hector "Macho" Camacho Sr. (1962–2012); the first full-length biography of the legendary boxer. Born in Puerto Rico but raised in Spanish Harlem, Camacho was fighting before he turned ten, took to the gym in hopes of becoming the next Bruce Lee, and emerged instead as the quicksilver winner of world boxing titles in three weight divisions, with a penchant for flamboyant outfits and behavior that won him both fans and foes. Giudice writes with sensitivity about Camacho's lifelong struggle with drugs and excessive partying that robbed him of a chance at true greatness and culminated in his murder as he sat in a car filled with bags of cocaine. The focus here is mostly on Camacho's career; his volatile relationship with his wife and sons, two of whom also pursed a career in boxing, aren't given much attention. VERDICT Giudice riffs on an old story here, but boxing fans who remember the ascendant days of lighter-weight fighters such as Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio César Chávez, and Oscar De La Hoya will want to read.—Jim Burns, formerly with Jacksonville P.L., FL

Library Journal