I wasn't born the 80's So I'm curious to know How big was the build-up leading up to the fight? Who were you picking leading up to the fight? Do you remember where you first watched the fight? And most importantly How do you feel it this fight effected camacho's career going forward?
Im not sure of the build up to the fight but I can remember thinking it may have been a hard one for Hector. I knew that Rosario could crack but it was a case of actually landing on the macho man. Which in the end of course he did manage to hurt him. I did notice a slight change in camacho after, he definitely became a more cautious fighter, not sure if that had been the hardest he'd ever been hit. But camacho had a solid chin and any one who could hurt him had to have power.
The fight was a natural Two Puerto Ricans fighting in MSG, with a lot of Puerto Ricans in attendance. To the mainstream, Camacho was seen as the clear favorite He had breezed past Jose Luis Ramirez, a guy Rosario had struggled with. Camacho seemed to be at his peak and Rosario, while formidable, figured to be soundly outpointed. However, those of us who followed boxing in a hardcore fashion, knew that Camacho had been dogged by rumors of drugs and periods of inactivity for a few years. He had only fought once since the previous August - outpointing clubfighter Freddie Roach in a non-title fight. He certainly had not looked overly impressive in that fight. Also, there had been rumors of drug abuse by Camacho going back to 1984. How much of that was real, or just sour grapes by his former manager Billy Giles, was open to interpretation. Still, people figured Camacho would be fully prepared for a formidable challenger like Rosario. He had "turned it on" against Ramirez so he figured to do it again. Rosario seemed to have a knack for getting up for the big fights, especially as a challenger. He performed great as a challenger against Camacho, Bramble and Loretto Garza. He was very aggressive and motivated against Camacho and his power rattled Camacho, forever scarring him psychologicaly. Camacho became more safety conscious and less aggressive. In effect, he became gun-shy. Camacho's career trajectory was negatively affected by this fight. He really only looked good in one more fight - the decision over Howard Davis, Jr. But, that may have neen somewhat due to Davis being past peak and not having the power to scare even a jaded Camacho.
I thought Hector would win a UD. Rosario was seen as on the downside after the second Ramirez fight. But that left hook turned the fight around and Hector's career. Then came Bramble, who couldn't put his hands up and block round house hooks of Rosario. They worked with straighter punches, but Rosario landed everything he through after round one.
