(OCT 24) PROVIDENCE, R.I.
-- On November 7, 2014, at the Twin River Event Center, Lincoln,
Rhode Island, the main event is a 10-round championship bout for
the vacant Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) female super
bantamweight world title between Providence's Shelito Vincent
(12-0, 1 KO) and Jackie Trivilino (9-8-3, 1 KO) of Plattsburgh,
N.Y.
In other boxing action...After winning their pro debuts in
September, Oliveira Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) and Sullivan (1-0, 1 KO),
both protégés of former world-title challenger Ray Oliveira Sr.,
are back at it on November 7th. Sullivan faces unbeaten
lightweight Oscar Bonilla (2-0-1) of New Haven, Conn., while
Oliveira Jr. takes on 6-foot-3 super middleweight Mike Rodriguez
(0-1), an accomplished amateur from Springfield, Mass., who also
debuted at Twin River last year when he faced Rhode Island's KJ
Harrison-Lombardi. Warwick, R.I., super middleweight and Air
Force veteran Zack Christy (1-0), who also debuted in September,
returns in a four-round bout against Springfield's Pedro Joquin
(0-1).
Background on Angel Camacho Jr....Two years ago, with pressure
to raise a family and provide his children with a stable home,
Angel Camacho Jr. decided to step away from boxing, still
undefeated after 12 professional fights.
"I could accept the fact I was no longer fighting," said the
father of three from Providence, R.I., "but it was difficult to
swallow."
Rather than live with regret, the 31-year-old super middleweight
decided it'd be best to end his career on his terms. On Friday,
Nov. 7th, 2014, Camacho (12-0, 4 KOs) will end a three-year
layoff when he returns to the ring to face hard-hitting Tylon
Burris (5-2, 3 KOs) of Hartford, Conn., in a six-round bout on
the undercard of "Winner Take All," the 2014 season finale for
CES Boxing at Twin River Casino.
"Every night, I would lay my head down and watch a fight and
wonder, 'What if? ... What could've happened?' I didn't want to
live like that."
Now he won't have to. Win or lose, Camacho Jr. will get to write
his own ending to what has been a tumultuous career both in and
out of the ring.
Six years ago, at the height of his career, a 25-year-old
prospect with a perfect 11-0 record, Camacho was forced to put
boxing on hold when he was sentenced to 18 months in prison
stemming from a felony domestic assault charge. Though he only
served nine months, the case took two years to process, so
Camacho wasn't sentenced until January of 2011.
"I had to plead to something I really didn't do because I didn't
have a lawyer," he said. "It really makes you think about what's
important and what's not important."
Camacho Jr. returned to the ring later that year in December,
ending a three-year hiatus with a win over Keith Kozlin. His
comeback was in full swing. He even went as far as to re-sign
with his original promoter, Jimmy Burchfield Sr., but conflicts
within his camp, coupled with family obligations, forced him to
step away from the game, this time by choice.
"It's just life's events. Life's hurdles. Life's complications,"
Camacho Jr. said. "I had a divorce, a lot of mishaps. Then I was
dealing with my significant other wanting me to stop, wanting me
to spend more time at home.
"I thought I was done," he continued. "My wife was happy. I was
spending time with my family. Everything was good. Then her
cousin asked me to train him. As I was helping him get in shape,
I was getting in boxing shape.
"That itch came back again."
With a new management team and a new trainer in Rhode
Island-based Roland Estrada, Camacho Jr. immediately sought out
Burchfield to resume his career. Burchfield welcomed him back
with open arms, reuniting the team that helped bring Camacho to
11-0 before his first hiatus.
"I should've never left. I should've followed my passion. This
is my first love," Camacho Jr. said. "God gave me the talent to
do this, so why not exploit that talent?
"I wasn't meant to get to 12-0 and just stop fighting. There's
much more for me to do in boxing. I can help people. I can
deliver a message, help guide people. I want to use boxing as a
platform to reach out to kids in need.
"I've gone through a lot, having drug issues, self-medicating
because of depression, to now being 100-percent focused and
clean. I'm really focused on where I need to go in life."
Stepping back into the game has been a breeze, mostly because of
Estrada's tutelage -- "I'm doing things with [Estrada] that I've
never done in boxing before," he said -- but also because he's
stayed in shape through the years due to the grueling, physical
labor of his 9-to-5 job.
"I'm a chimney man," he said. "I mix cement all day, carry
around bricks, climb up and down ladders, clean chimneys, build
chimneys, install wood stoves and liners for furnaces.
"It's hard, physical labor. It's a tough job. My body's always
aching. It's very similar to boxing."
Aside from the physical attributes, the mental aspect of boxing,
arguably the most important part, has always been the foundation
to Camacho's success. He's a student of the game, the kind of
fighter who watches the sport night and day even if he's not
preparing for a fight.
"I truly, genuinely love the sport," he said. "It's like playing
chess. I've been sparring with [junior middleweight world
champion] Demetrius [Andrade]. He's a technician. When I'm in
there with him, I'm like, 'I'm going to do this, this and this.'
It's really like playing a game of chess.
"If I move my rook to this spot, his knight will be there. You
have to be three steps ahead. That's what I love about boxing.
It's a thinking man's sport."
The fight against Burris is no easy task. Burris has a
reputation for being one of the region's hardest punchers, known
primarily for knocking out Connecticut's Kevin Cobbs in 2012, to
this day the only loss on Cobbs' record. But this is a new and
improved Camacho, one with less turmoil in his personal life, a
father dedicated to raising his three children, Taytum (10),
Cayden (6) and Aniya (10 months), while resuming a
once-promising career derailed one too many times in the past.
Win or lose, Camacho Jr. will at least be able to walk away with
no regrets, whenever that time comes.
"I've been boxing since I was 12," he said. "It's time to get
back in there and see what happens."