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Champion boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho dies after shooting

By Nick Valencia and Michael Martinez, CNN
December 11, 2012 -- Updated 2125 GMT (0525 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Police continue search for two suspects, found cocaine in car occupied by Camacho
  • He was a promoter's godsend for his showmanship, titles and hand speed
  • He suffered a heart attack after doctors ruled him clinically brain dead
  • A southpaw, Camacho won 79 fights and titles in three weight classes

(CNN) -- Famed boxer Hector Camacho died after he was taken off life support early Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman in Puerto Rico told CNN.

A passing gunman on Tuesday shot Camacho, who was in a car in front of a bar in his hometown of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

He was declared clinically brain dead on Thursday and placed on life support.

Camacho, 50, suffered a heart attack and had been taken off life support, said Wilmelis Marquez, spokeswoman for the Rio Piedras Medical Center.

Famed Puerto Rican boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho, seen here in 1993, died Saturday, November 24. A gunman shot him in the face two days earlier in front of a bar in his hometown of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Famed Puerto Rican boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho, seen here in 1993, died Saturday, November 24. A gunman shot him in the face two days earlier in front of a bar in his hometown of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
'Macho' Camacho through the years
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Photos: \'Macho\' Camacho through the years Photos: 'Macho' Camacho through the years
Lo último sobre "El Macho" Camacho
Los familiares de Camacho

He was pronounced dead at 1:45 a.m., she said.

She said his organs were not healthy enough to be donated.

Camacho, a former lightweight and junior lightweight champion, was in the passenger seat of the car, police said. The driver was shot twice and killed, they said.

The suspects are two men believed to have been traveling in a gray vehicle, said Lt. Wilfredo Rivera of Cataño Police. They escaped after a shootout with police at a residential complex, WAPA TV reported.

Investigators continued to search Saturday for the two suspects, said Alex Diaz, spokesman for the Puerto Rico Police Department in the Bayamon division.

Authorities found nine bags of cocaine on the slain driver, who had a long history of drug-related charges and was Camacho's friend, Diaz said.

Police also found one opened bag of cocaine inside the car, Diaz said.

Camacho was considered a promoter's godsend because he was a showman in the ring against some of the greatest fighters of his era: Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar de la Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad and Vinny Pazienzia.

He was known for long, flashy trunks with tassels, and he enjoyed being theatrical, as evidenced by his "Macho" nickname.

His flamboyance was as dazzling as his hand-and-foot speed, and his titles and victories attested to his talent.

A southpaw, he won world titles in the classes of super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight in the 1980s. He amassed a record of 79 victories, six losses and three draws.

Among his high-profile bouts was his 1997 knockout of Leonard, ending his comeback effort. But the same year, Camacho lost to de la Hoya.

His most recent fight was in 2010, when he was well past his prime and his life was being marked by drug, alcohol and marital problems. He lost that bout to Saul Duran.

Camacho was born in Bayamon and was raised in New York after his family moved to Spanish Harlem.

In 2005, he was arrested in Mississippi on charges of trying to rob an electronics store and possession of the drug ecstasy. He was later given probation.

This year, Camacho was ordered by a Florida court not to have contact with his ex-wife 13-year-old son after allegations that Camacho had attacked the boy.

His survivors include another son who is also a boxer, Hector "Machito" Camacho Jr.

Obituaries 2012: The lives they've lived

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