Camacho Conquers in Tribute to Father
By: Ron Scarfone
At Six Bends Harley-Davidson in Fort Myers, Florida, a boxing event titled Return To Macho Time was presented by Hard As Stone Promotions in association with Bonita Beach Boxing, Inc. Six Bends is an unusual motorcycle dealership because it also functions as an entertainment venue which has events such as rock concerts. This event was a tribute to International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Hector “Macho” Camacho. Camacho died in 2012 after being shot in Puerto Rico. Camacho’s 24-year-old son Christian “MC” Camacho is following in his father’s footsteps and is also a pro boxer. The event could also have been titled Return To The Ring for two of the boxers on the fight card who were previously inactive: David Armstrong and Derrick Wilson. Robert Daniels had been scheduled to fight, but his bout was cancelled. Frank Gentile who is the Assistant Executive Director of the Florida State Boxing Commission said that this decision was made due to “medical reasons.” After the boxing event, Daniels said that it was because of “personal reasons.” Daniels also said that he will be fighting in Flint, Michigan soon. Daniels is 48 years of age and he seeks to make a comeback. Daniels’ last fight was in 2012. Daniels is best known for winning the vacant WBA cruiserweight title over Dwight Muhammad Qawi by split decision in 1989.
Christian Camacho made his pro debut in 2013 against Enrique Angeles Jr. in Mexico which is Angeles Jr.’s home country. Angeles Jr.’s record was officially 1-1 at the time. However, it was later revealed that Angeles Jr. actually had eight additional wins which were off the record (no pun intended). Camacho was unaware that Angeles Jr. fought in eight more bouts than his record indicated. This information was revealed to him after the fight. Camacho won his next three bouts in Florida prior to this one at Six Bends, so his record was 3-1. Camacho lives in Orlando, Florida and he faced Brandon Lane of San Antonio, Texas in the featherweight division. Lane lost his pro debut in March and had a record of 0-1. Camacho vs. Lane was the main event for this tribute to Hector “Macho” Camacho and it was scheduled for four rounds. In the first round, a punch combination by Camacho knocked down Lane. Lane was able to get up before the count of ten seconds. Lane would not get knocked down again, but Camacho also outboxed Lane in rounds two, three, and four. All three judges scored the fight 40-35 in favor of Camacho by unanimous decision. Camacho improves his record to 4-1, 0 KOs. Lane remains winless at 0-2, 0 KOs.
David “Diamond D” Armstrong faced Courtney “Lionheart” Jackson in the welterweight division. Armstrong’s previous fight was in 2009, so he was making a comeback after a seven year hiatus. Armstrong is now 46 years old and lives in Fort Myers, Florida. Jackson is 28 years old and lives in Miami, Florida. Jackson served in the United States Navy and is now a pre-med student at the University of Miami. Jackson has an undefeated record, but his wins mostly came against boxers with winless or losing records. Prior to this event at Six Bends, Jackson fought Ramesis Gil of the Dominican Republic last month. Gil had a losing record, but he mostly fought opponents with winning or undefeated records. Jackson defeated Gil by unanimous decision, but only by a slim margin of 57-56 on all three judges’ scorecards. This was in spite of the fact that Gil knocked Jackson down in one of the rounds. Armstrong was a world-class boxer in 1997, but that was many years ago. Armstrong won the WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title in 1997 and received a title shot against WBO lightweight champion Artur Grigorian, but lost by unanimous decision. Armstrong vs. Jackson was the co-main event for this tribute to Hector Camacho. Jackson was bigger, faster, stronger, and much younger than Armstrong who had been inactive for several years. Jackson used his straight right to snap Armstrong’s head back. He also landed to the body with this type of punch. Armstrong never gave up, but Jackson was simply superior to him. In round four, Jackson knocked down Armstrong. Armstrong was able to get up, but was floored again with a left hook to the head. Armstrong got up on wobbly legs and the referee decided to stop the fight. The time of stoppage was 1:02 of round four and Jackson won by TKO. Jackson remains unbeaten at 13-0, 7 KOs. Armstrong’s record drops to 20-12-2, 12 KOs.
“Magic” Marcus Willis of Fort Myers, Florida faced Frank “Flash” Gedeon of West Palm Beach, Florida in the super welterweight division. In 2012, Willis lost by knockout in an interim WBO Latino super welterweight title fight against Jorge Melendez. Gedeon was tall and lanky and Wills was shorter and stockier. Both men landed hard shots, but “Flash” was often stationary and Willis was doing most of the fighting. All three judges scored the fight 59-55 in favor of Willis by unanimous decision in this six-round bout. Willis improves his record to 17-4-2, 4 KOs. Gedeon’s record falls to 6-2-2, 5 KOs.
Derrick Wilson of Fort Myers, Florida faced Justin Lopez of Grandville, Michigan in the featherweight division. In 2013, Wilson lost by knockout in a WBC Silver featherweight title fight against Robinson Castellanos. Wilson lost two more bouts in 2014 and is now returning to the ring after a two year hiatus. Wilson never knocked Lopez down, but Wilson won every round. Wilson snapped Lopez’s head back several times, but Lopez was still standing. It was scheduled for six rounds and all three judges scored the fight 60-54 in favor of Wilson by unanimous decision. Wilson improves his record to 11-7-2, 3 KOs. Lopez’s record falls below .500 and has a losing record of 5-6, 5 KOs.
Tobias “Da Truth” Green of West Palm Beach, Florida faced Keith Humble of New Orleans, Louisiana. Green weighed a tad less than 140 pounds and Humble weighed three pounds above that. Humble landed the harder shots in round one. Humble pounded the body while Green was mostly throwing jabs. However, Green outboxed Humble in rounds two, three, and four. Green showed good footwork, agility, and speed. The punches that Green landed were taking their toll on Humble, but he never was knocked down and kept coming forward. One judge scored it 40-36 while the other two judges scored it 39-37. The 20-year-old Green won by unanimous decision and remains unbeaten at 5-0, 2 KOs. This was Humble’s pro debut, so his record is now 0-1, 0 KOs.
Leonardo “The Lion” Acanda of Miami, Florida faced Joe “The Thrilla” Miller of West Palm Beach, Florida in the light heavyweight division. This was a fierce fight with nearly non-stop action. The referee also got a workout just doing his job. Acanda was making his pro debut and Miller was 1-0. This was a brutal fight with close rounds, but Acanda appeared to have a slight advantage. Both boxers were showing signs of fatigue, but still throwing punches in the fourth and final round. One judge scored it 40-36 whereas the two other judges scored it 39-37. Acanda won his pro debut by unanimous decision and is now 1-0, 0 KOs. Miller received his first professional defeat and is now 1-1, 0 KOs.