Miguel Cotto loses MSG fight to Austin Trout

Days before stepping into the ring to defend his World Boxing Association super welterweight title against Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden, Austin Trout was looking to get the respect that comes with the belt he won two years ago.

The basically unheralded Trout — who goes by the nickname "No Doubt" — boasted, "I'm the present and future of the sport."

Trout was facing some pretty long odds in defeating his opponent in the boxing arena which might be called Cotto's house.

Cotto's 7-0 record in the Garden and the hostile pro-Cotto crowd of 13,097 could attest to his popularity  in his home away from home.

In an entertaining and action-packed fight, that was pretty much even up until the final rounds, Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) backed up his words and beat Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) in a 12-round unanimous decision.

The 27-year-old Trout managed to dominate the final two rounds and won easily on all three scorecards.  Two judges had it 117-111 while the third scored the fight 119-113 — all for Trout.

After the fight, fans waving Puerto Rican flags booed the judges' decision that denied their native son another title.

Trout, whose game plan was not to stand in front of the 32-year-old Cotto, was satisfied with the win.

"I've been preparing for this fight for my entire life,' said Trout after the bout. "Fighting Miguel Cotto is a dream come true, it was the hardest fight of my career."

Cotto, who regained his composure after a hard Trout left hand in the first,  still had Trout on the ropes with a wild flurry in the 10th round that had the crowd roaring with approval.  But it was Trout's southpaw style that prevailed by not giving Cotto any clear open shots.

"I had to show him I was the bigger guy and push him back a couple of times to show him he had no advantage," said Trout.

Trout landed 238 punches, according to Compubox, while Cotto landed 183.  Trout also landed 192 power punches to 154 scored for his opponent.

It was a tough day for Puerto Rican boxing fans in general.  Earlier in the morning, the family of Hector "Macho" Camacho buried one of the sports legendary competitors in the Bronx and twelve hours later, they watched one of their favorite sons fight what could be his last bout at Madison Square Garden.

Cotto initially left the ring in disgust after believing he won the 154-pound fight.  It was his second straight loss.  He said he would evaluate his career after some time off and a little rest.

For Trout, it could be the start of a new love affair with the old arena.

"I hope they bring me back to New York," he said.  "I love fighting in the Garden."

For Cotto — who might have heard the final bell in a place that hosted so many of his greatest moments — the cheers were still ringing after the fight.

Asked if he thought he had won, Cotto, while blowing kisses out to the crowd, said, "Who do you think won the fight? Just listen to those fans."

'Macho' Camacho gets horse-drawn send-off in East Harlem

Hector "Macho" Camacho returned to the New York neighborhood he knew so well and was given a hero's send-off by the thousands of mourners who lined the East Harlem streets where he was raised.

The legendary boxer's casket was paraded through the same streets where he learned to fight in a white  horse-drawn carriage and was greeted by cheers of appreciation and tears of grief.

Camacho's procession was nothing less than the flamboyant fighter would have wanted.

The three-time champion's casket was draped in a Puerto Rican flag and and started its final trip in front of St. Cecelia's Catholic Church on East 106th Street, going up Fifth Avenue, across 116th street, back down Fifth Avenue and finally winding up back at the church.

People followed the procession and marched behind the vehicles carrying Camacho's mourning friends and family.

Overhead, people hung out windows waving Puerto Rican flags and chanted, "Macho. Macho" from behind police barricades.

"I love you guys," said the boxer's mother Maria Matias — the woman who had the heartbreaking task of authorizing doctors to remove her brain dead son from life support just a few days ago.  The 50-year-old Camacho was shot in the face outside a bar in his birthplace of Bavamon, Puerto Rico last week.  Three men are in custody for the shooting which left a friend of Camacho dead.

The line to get into the church by people wishing to pay their respects wound around the block.

"I fought hard to bring my son here, where he belongs," said Matias.  "He fought here, he was raised here and now he is being buried here.  Look at all the supporters here, it is amazing."

While Friday's farewell was a lovefest for the local hero, a farewell in Puerto Rico on Tuesday was disrupted by a woman who claimed to be Camacho's girlfriend and angered his sisters by lifting a veil in the open casket and kissing him.

On this day, it was all about the good memories of the popular fighter.

"They are telling me that Camacho is alive today.  His spirit is not dead,' said Matias.  "He is a champion. I will always carry him in my heart."

Hector 'Macho' Camacho dead at 50 after being removed from life support

Former boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho died Saturday morning at the hospital in Puerto Rico where he has been unconscious since he was shot in the face last week.

Camacho went into cardiac arrest in the pre-dawn hours and was then taken off life support and died shortly after, reports The Associated Press.

Dr. Ernesto Torres, the director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, said the final decision was made after it had been authorized by the fighter's mother, Maria Matias.

The death came before the family was scheduled to make an announcement Saturday morning regarding taking Camacho off of the artificial respirator.  Matias wanted to wait until the boxer's three sons arrived in Puerto Rico from the U.S. mainland and had a chance to see their father for the last time.

Doctors had declared Camacho brain dead on Thursday.  Matias had said she decided it was time for doctors to disconnect life support over the objections of the boxer's eldest son, Hector Jr., because there was no chance of recovery.

The sons managed to visit their father before he died, said former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a longtime friend, who had been acting as a family spokesperson.

"The family is destroyed," Callejas said outside the hospital.

Hector 'Macho' Camacho's mother makes decision to take brain dead boxer off life support

Hector "Macho" Camacho will be taken off life support Saturday, his mother indicated Friday night.  The former world champion boxer, who was shot in the face last week, was pronounced clinically brain dead and is expected to be taken off the artificial respirator that keeps him alive — a decision opposed by his eldest son, Hector Camacho Jr..

The fighter's mother, Maria Matias, told the media waiting outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico hospital where the 50-year-old Camacho lay unconscious since being shot that she had decided doctors should remove life support, but only after three of his sons arrived in Puerto Rico early Saturday morning and had  a chance to see him one last time, according to The Associated Press.

"I lost my son three days ago.  He's alive only because of a machine," Matias said.  "My son is not alive.  My son is only alive for the people who love him," she added.

The three other sons were expected to arrive from the U.S. mainland around midnight Friday.

"Until they arrive, we will not disconnect the machine," Matias said. 

Another news conference was scheduled for Saturday morning at Centro Medico, the main trauma center for San Juan, when the family is expected to announce the final decision.

Camacho was shot as he sat in a car outside a bar with a friend, Adrian Mojica, who was killed in the shooting.  Police found nine small bags of cocaine in Mojica's pocket and an open bag in the car.  There have been no arrests.

The flamboyant former boxer held world titles in the super lightweight, light weight and junior welterweight divisions and ended his career with a record of 79-6-3.  Camacho's most memorable fights included high profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and a fifth-round knockout of Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997.

UPDATE: Hector Camacho declared clinically 'brain dead'

Doctors say flamboyant former boxer Hector `Macho' Camacho is clinically ''brain dead'' after being shot in the face.

Dr. Ernesto Torres said at a news conference Thursday that doctors are still performing tests on Camacho before meeting with his family, according to The New York Daily News.

Torres had said late Wednesday that Camacho was showing irregular and intermittent brain activity.

The 50-year-old Camacho was shot as he and a friend sat in a Ford Mustang parked outside a bar Tuesday night. Police spokesman Alex Diaz has said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket, and a 10th bag open inside the car.

Former boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho in critical condition after getting shot in face

Former three-division world champion boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho, the flamboyant and often troubled Puerto Rican fighter who was raised in New York City, was shot in the jaw while in a car outside a bar in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on Tuesday night.  He is listed in critical condition.

A man driving the car was also shot and killed.  Police have one suspect in custody according to reports in the local newspaper Primera Hora.  It was not clear what relationship, if any, Camacho had with the other victim and the motive was unknown.

The 50-year-old Camacho was unconscious as he was taken to the trauma center at Centro Medico in San Juan.  Hospital officials said he was in serious condition.  

According to doctors, Camacho was struck once in the left jaw and the bullet travelled down his neck and lodged in his right shoulder.  Along the way the bullet fractured his 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae and Camacho lost so much blood that he needed a transfusion.  There was no mention of paralysis and doctors could not determine if he had been struck by any other bullets.

Camacho won super lightweight, lightweight and junior middleweight world titles in the 1980's and gained notoriety for entering the ring in outlandish gladiator outfits.   He also made headlines for a series of run-ins with the law.

The hard partying fighter's most memorable bouts were a split decision loss to Julio Cesar Chavez in 1992 — when both fighters were undefeated — and his fifth-round knockout of a fading Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997 — which was to be Camacho's last real hurrah in the ring.

Camacho's son, Hector Jr., followed his dad into boxing and went on to have a respectable career but without any of his father's acclaim.

The older Camacho, a three-time Golden Gloves winner,  ended his career with a record of 79-5-3 and Macho attempted a comeback as recently as 2009.

UPDATE: Camacho declared clinically 'brain dead'

Doctors say boxer Hector `Macho' Camacho is clinically ''brain dead'' after being shot in the face.

Dr. Ernesto Torres said at a news conference Thursday that doctors are still performing tests on Camacho before meeting with his family, according to The New York Daily News.

Torres had said late Wednesday that Camacho was showing irregular and intermittent brain activity.

The 50-year-old Camacho was shot as he and a friend sat in a Ford Mustang parked outside a bar Tuesday night. Police spokesman Alex Diaz has said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket, and a 10th bag open inside the car.