Ring Observer Boxing by Scoop Malinowski
By Scoop Malinowski
Status: Former WBC Super Featherweight, WBC Lightweight and WBO Junior Welterweight champion compiled a pro record of 79-6-3 (38 KOs) in a career that spanned 1980-2010.
DOB: May 24, 1962 In: Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Died: Nov. 24, 2012
Childhood Heroes: “Muhammad Ali. Ray Leonard.”
Early Boxing Memory: “I always believed to be what I am. I worked a lot on performing, turning myself into a macho guy, the showman. I worked on that personality, even as a kid. I used to play with GI Joe, listen to music – that helped me create imagination. I worked on my image. Self-made image. Been self managed for fourteen years. Make the outfits, do everything. I wanted to be the kid that everyone looked up to.”
Nicknames: “Macho Man, Little Man, Papa Man.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Jogging, watching basketball, handball, pool, flying remote control helicopters, singing, dancing, ladies.”
First Job: “Never had a job.”
First Car: “1983 black Cadillac Eldorado.”
Childhood Ambition: “Everything I am.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Beating Jose Luis Ramirez (W 12 in 1985), Rafael Solis (Ko 5 1983), Rafael Limon (KO 5 1983), and Vinny Pazienza (W 12 1990).”
Favorite Boxers To Watch Today: “Julio Cesar Chavez, Terry Norris, Evander Holyfield.”
Pre-Fight Meal: “Ice cream, spaghetti, soda, lemonade, anything I can get after the weigh in.”
Favorite Meal: “All American steak and baked potato.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Tony The Tiger. Frosted Flakes. They’rrrrre Grrreeat!”
Closest Friends In Boxing: “Chavez – he’s a friend. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to kick his ass in. Mike Tyson – he’s a very nice human being – who got taken advantage of. Frankie Randall.”
Favorite Sports To Watch Outside Boxing: “Basketball, golf.”
Favorite Sport To Play: “Sex. Is that a sport [smiles]?”
Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, George Foreman, Madonna, Chi Chi Rodriguez.”
Favorite Fight: “Leonard-Hearns 1.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”
Last Book Read: “I don’t read much.”
Favorite Movies: “Who’s That Spook Hiding Behind The Door. Rambo.”
Favorite Vacation Spot: “My bed [laughs]. No…Bahamas.”
Musical Tastes: “Michael Jackson, variety.”
Funniest Boxers Encountered: “Emile Griffith. Myself.”
Pre-Fight Feeling: “Think of looking sharp, looking good. How I’m gonna get started. (I) lay back and think. Premeditating. Once I go inside the ring and close my shield (gesture of helmet), transform out of Macho Man to Macho Camacho, the fighter.”
Worst Injury: “Maybe heartbroken, in a sense. A lot of good friends that disappointed me with things that shouldn’t have happened. Life goes on.”
Interesting Fact: “I am very humble. Very tactful. If you see me away from all this, I’m very humble. Yes I am. When the respect is mutual, I’m very tactful. And I’m a good human being. Good father and good friend. I feel very good and fair.”
Future Ambition: “Actor. Be some kind of Rambo or something someday. Four-time world champion.”
(Note: This Biofile interview was done in NYC at a press conference in 1994.)
