Is Hector Camacho overrated?

How is he rated? What fights have you viewed of his?

I think most see him as being an outstanding 130lber and a great 135lber for a time. He didn't have longevity but most mythical matches are pitted each boxer at their best unless otherwise noted.
I don't think anyone was as fast as Hector with their hands while he was in his early 20s. At least I haven't seen anyone. His ring IQ was first rate. He could frustrate fighters by pecking and poking in his declining years without being touched hardly at all. His chin was above average.
If you pitted Mayweather and Camacho at 130 or 135 the best versions it would be interesting. It wouldn't be as easy as Zab Judah who floored Floyd and was basically a 3 or 4 round fighter.

 

I don't know of anyone who overrates him.

If you would've said when Camacho turned pro in 1980 that he'd finish his career with nearly 80 wins, win belts in three divisions (in 1980 only a few people had), and score victories over Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini, Howard Davis Jr. ...

I think all of us would've assumed he turned out to be one of the greatest fighters who ever lived.

But nobody thinks that.

 

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I do believe so yes. He had a lot of raw talent but rarely put it all together. He had an outstanding career but it seems he’s definitely had a positive post-career push in recent years but it’s probably a little too positive a push.

 

He doesn't seem particularly overrated to me in terms of achievements and record. He's possibly a touch overrated in terms of his all-round game and skillset as you've alluded to, as sheer speed is sometimes conflated with technique or skill. Even at his best I think he had quite a repetitive form of attack and wasn't the most intelligent of fighters.

But of course it's all relative and he was only repetitive and lacking in ring smarts compared to the leading fighters in the sport. He wasn't all that good in those areas, but he wasn't poor either. So throw in some blinding speed, a superb chin, respectable power and good natural fitness / work rate from his younger years, and you had a very good fighter at his peak.

I tend to think that Camacho is rated about right, overall. Better than good, but not great.

 

The thing about Mayweather is that he didn’t exactly face a wide variety of different styles ...which leaves some unanswered questions

 

I thought Camacho was at his best at 130. He was very good at 135 but he never quite recaptured what he had at 130. Hard for me to say he's overrated because I don't tend to hear people talking about him as being that great. His reputation seems to be that of a runner and/or a clown. As he went up in weight, he became more reluctant. But to me he was great at 130 and comparable to any others at that weight in my time.

Similarly, I liked Mayweather at 130. His talent translated to higher weight divisions better than Camacho's, of course. But at 130, Mayweather was at his best. I was amazed at the way he tore through Genaro Hernandez and Angel Manfredy. The way he beat Corrales was huge. Head to head, I'd pick Mayweather at 130 over Camacho.

 

Camacho vs Mayweather at 130,,, geez who gonna lead in that fight? I kinda think Hector's speed will really bother Floyd and at days end you'll probably see 3 wildly different score cards

 

Camacho didn`t have the power to drop Floyd the way Judah did and couldn`t have stood in front of Floyd out-boxing him like that. DLH found Camacho very easy to hit as did Chavez.

 

Duran and Leonard were old and shot when Camacho beat them, Norris completely dominated Ray 5 years before Hector stopped Ray, no way could Camacho have stopped a prime Leonard nor could he have gone toe to toe with Duran the way Ray did in Montreal.

 

I'm very aware of that, Mark. That's why I said if someone told you in 1980 that Camacho would accomplish those things ... you'd imagine he had accomplished great things. But people don't think that.

 

Camacho was an extremely gifted fighter, but was an underachiever. He dropped fast in quality too. From his dominant win over JL Ramirez in 85’ to barely getting by Ray Mancini in 89’. A Mancini who hadn’t fought in 4 years.

He had major substance abuse issues and wasn’t known to be the hardest worker in the gym either. I scored it for Rosario when they fought, but it was a tough, close fight. That brought out more of the runner/survivor in him. When I match him up H2H against other top 130-135 lb fighters, I think that would come into play.

For instance, a matchup against Floyd. Camacho would have success early on, but I think Floyd would make adjustments and start getting that right hand in more with consistently. Eventually I think Camacho would shell up and not throw enough and drop a decision. Same thing against Arguello. Hector had the speed and style to give Arguello (or just about anyone else) issues. But Alexis would get to him and Hector would be too focused on defense.

Camacho wasn’t easy to hit, but also didn’t have the well layered defense of guys like Whitaker or Floyd.

 

No.

 

130 & 135 lbs Camacho was one of my favorites. I think it was Max Kellerman who claimed a young Camacho, a young Mike Tyson and Roy Jones were the 3 most scintillating fighters he ever saw. And I actually agree with that.

As others have posted above the streets kept him under wraps. And with most athletes the desire to stay on top and put in 100% effort day in and day out can get tedious and tiresome.

He had the tools to become an ATG. I think he's a great just not an All Time Great.

 

He is not overrated or under. I think he goes right where he belongs. I don't think he is considered a great. He missed that boat and lost all of his prime fights. He had a front runner personality. He tended to avoid his generation except for Chavez late, but he fought Delahoya and Tito too late and he fought Duran and Leonard when they were way past it. So we really don't know where he belongs in regards to his true generation, but the consensus to me is that after Rosario he shied away from the bigger fights and wanted to stay active, which is why he got to 80 fights. Had he tried to fight the bigger fights of his generation he might have had less fights but more great matchups which would have worn him out from fighting 80. You can fight the lesser guys 40 times more than tough guys 10 times. He didn't put a statement on his generation much after 1986. He fought on and had some marquee fights because of his personality and people wanting to get that big press conference. Hector lost when he should have and won when he should have.. I don't remember many surprises except maybe the severity in how Chavez beat him.. He took Chavez punch, but he was beaten up easily. He was great at 130.