Wadi Camacho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wadi Camacho
Born
Nationality
  • British
  • Spanish
Other namesMachoman
Statistics
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
StanceSouthpaw
Boxing record[1]
Total fights30
Wins21
Wins by KO12
Losses9

Wadi Camacho is a Spanish-born British former professional boxer who competed from 2012 to 2019. He held the Commonwealth cruiserweight title from 2018 to 2019 and challenged for the British cruiserweight title in 2019.

Professional career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Camacho made his professional debut on 28 January 2012, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Moses Matovu at the York Hall in London.[2] Camacho scored five more wins in 2012; Rolandas Cesna by technical knockout (TKO) in March;[3] Igoris Borucha by PTS in May;[4] Paul Morris with a stoppage via corner retirement (RTD) in June;[5] and TKOs against Andrew Ingram in September[6] and Hari Miles in December.[7]

His first fight of 2013 came against China Clarke for the vacant English cruiserweight title on 9 March at the Wembley Arena, London. Camacho suffered his first defeat, losing via seventh-round RTD.[8]

Prizefighter series[edit]

Following the defeat to Clarke, Camacho entered the 30th edition of the Prizefighter series, taking place on 18 May at the York Hall. He won his first two bouts by unanimous decision (UD), defeating Martin Grainger with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27,[9] followed by Nathan Owens, with one judge scoring the bout 30–26 while the other two scored it 29–27.[10] In the final he faced former foe Hari Miles, who he beat six months earlier via seventh-round TKO.[11] In the second round of his final bout of the night, Camacho landed three hard body shots, forcing Miles to go down on one knee. After making it to his feet before the referee's count of ten, Miles was met with another flurry of punches to put him down for the second time. Miles was unable to make it to his feet before the count of ten, awarding Camacho a second-round knockout (KO) victory to win the tournament along with the £32,000 prize, plus an addition £2,000 for scoring a stoppage win.[12]

Title contention[edit]

British title eliminator[edit]

His next fight was a TKO win against Atilla Palko one month later[13] before facing Tony Conquest in an eliminator for the British cruiserweight title on 5 October 2013 at The O2 Arena, London. After knocking his opponent down twice, Camacho went on to suffer the second defeat of his career, losing via UD over ten rounds.[14] Two judges scored the bout 96–93 while the other scored it 95–94, all in favour of Conquest.[15]

WBC International title[edit]

After scoring TKO wins against John Anthony in December 2013 and Toni Visic in April 2014, he faced Stephen Simmons for the WBC International Silver cruiserweight title on 27 June at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow. The pair were previously scheduled to fight on 1 March, but Simmons was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering a broken rib.[16] After a back-and-forth fight over nine rounds, Camacho was dropped to the canvas in the tenth and final round. He made it to his feet on unsteady legs, only to be met with a big right hand from Simmons, prompting the referee to call a halt to the contest, handing Camacho a TKO loss.[17]

Southern Area champion[edit]

Following his loss to Simmons he suffered consecutive defeats to Craig Kennedy; the first being a second-round disqualification (DQ) for allegedly biting Kennedy on the shoulder in October 2014 and a seventh-round TKO in March 2015.[18]

He bounced back from his three consecutive defeats by scoring PTS wins against Yavor Marinchev in October[19] and Jindrich Velecky in January 2016.[20] Camacho next faced Dan Woodgate for the vacant Southern Area cruiserweight title on 27 February 2016 at the York Hall. Camacho dropped Woodgate to the canvas in the fifth round with a left hook followed by an uppercut, leaving Woodgate with a cut above his right eye. After making it to his feet before the referee's count of ten he was met with a barrage of punches while pinned against the ropes, prompting the referee to step in and call a halt to the contest to save Woodgate from further punishment, awarding Camacho the Southern Area title by way of a fifth-round TKO.[21]

He successfully defended the title in July – stopping Danny Couzens via sixth-round RTD[22] – before facing Isaac Chamberlain on 29 September 2016 at the York Hall. In his second defence of the Southern Area title, Camacho lost by PTS, with referee Jeff Hinds scoring the bout 98–94 in favour of Chamberlain.[23] After Chamberlain vacated the title, Camacho got the opportunity to fight for it once again in his next fight, this time against Karl Wheeler on 18 March 2017 at the York Hall.[24] Camacho dropped Wheeler to the canvas with a body shot in round five. Wheeler was able to make it to his feet before the referee finished his count of ten, but deemed Wheeler unfit to continue, handing Camacho a fifth-round TKO win to recapture the Southern Area title.[25]

Second attempt at the English title[edit]

In his next fight he made a second attempt to capture the English cruiserweight title, facing Arfan Iqbal on 9 July at the York Hall. After starting the fourth round as the aggressor, Camacho took a big right hand to the head which left him against the ropes on unsteady legs. Referee Phil Edwards stepped in to call a halt to the contest after Iqbal landed two more clean punches, handing Camacho his seventh defeat, losing via fourth-round TKO.[26]

Retaining the Southern Area title[edit]

Following his second failed attempt at the English title, Camacho still maintained the Southern Area belt. He was scheduled to make his first defence – since winning the title against Karl Wheeler in March – on 23 September 2017 against Jose Lopes at the York Hall. After Lopes was forced to withdraw due to injury, Ossie Jervier – who was scheduled to fight in an eliminator for the title – stepped in as a late replacement.[27] Camacho retained his title via PTS.[28] He successfully defended the title twice more; scoring a PTS win against Jose Lopes in a rescheduled bout in November[29] followed by a TKO win in a rematch against former victim Danny Couzens in March 2018.[30]

Commonwealth champion[edit]

Following the win over Couzens, Camacho took another rematch, this time against former conqueror Arfan Iqbal. The bout took place on 17 November 2018 at the York Hall, with the vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title up for grabs. The bout was stopped in the seventh round after Iqbal fell through the ropes. With an injured back and unable to continue, the decision rested on the judges' scorecards. Two judges scored the bout 69–63 while the third scored it 68–64, all in favour of Camacho, awarding him the Commonwealth title via unanimous technical decision (TD).[31]

His first defence came against British cruiserweight champion, Lawrence Okolie, on 23 March 2019 at the Copper Box Arena, London, as part of the undercard for Charlie Edwards' world title defence against Angel Moreno. After struggling with Okolie's power in the first two rounds, Camacho found some success in the third by landing a clean left hand. In the fourth, Okolie landed a big right to send Camacho down on one knee. After beating the referee's count of ten he was met with another powerful right hand, promoting the referee to call a halt to the contest, handing Camacho the eighth defeat of his career and awarding Okolie the Commonwealth title via fourth-round TKO.[32]

Outside of boxing[edit]

On 3 October 2019 Camacho was arrested for terrorism offences. He said of the arrest, "I'm just so confused, it's something else. I've been a professional boxer for eight or nine years; I'm known to the police, I don't socialise with bad people, I have a good team around me. It's unbelievable. They arrested me yesterday for suspected terorism. I don't know what's next, I don't have no phone. I'm bailed until October 29; it's bonkers."

London police subsequently released a statement on the matter, saying, "A man who was arrested in east London on suspicion of terrorism offences has been released on bail. The man, who is in his 30s, was arrested on Wednesday 2 October on suspicion of collection of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism under section 58 of the Terrorist Act."[33]

Professional boxing record[edit]

30 fights 21 wins 9 losses
By knockout 12 6
By decision 9 2
By disqualification 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
30 Loss 21–9 Deion Jumah TKO 5 (10), 2:08 7 Sep 2019 York Hall, London, England For vacant English cruiserweight title
29 Loss 21–8 Lawrence Okolie TKO 4 (12), 3:00 23 Mar 2019 Copper Box Arena, London, England Lost Commonwealth cruiserweight title;
For British cruiserweight title
28 Win 21–7 Arfan Iqbal TD 7 (12), 0:19 17 Nov 2018 York Hall, London, England Won vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title;
Fight stopped after Iqbal fell through ropes and injured his back
27 Win 20–7 Danny Couzens TKO 9 (10), 1:53 17 Mar 2018 York Hall, London, England Retained Southern Area cruiserweight title
26 Win 19–7 Jose Lopes PTS 10 25 Nov 2017 York Hall, London, England Retained Southern Area cruiserweight title
25 Win 18–7 Ossie Jervier PTS 10 23 Sep 2017 York Hall, London, England Retained Southern Area cruiserweight title
24 Loss 17–7 Arfan Iqbal TKO 4 (10), 1:04 9 Jul 2017 York Hall, London, England For vacant English cruiserweight title
23 Win 17–6 Karl Wheeler TKO 5 (10), 2:27 18 Mar 2017 York Hall, London, England Won vacant Southern Area cruiserweight title
22 Loss 16–6 Isaac Chamberlain PTS 10 29 Sep 2016 York Hall, London, England Lost Southern Area cruiserweight title
21 Win 16–5 Danny Couzens RTD 6 (10), 3:00 16 Jul 2016 York Hall, London, England Retained Southern Area cruiserweight title
20 Win 15–5 Dan Woodgate TKO 5 (10), 2:03 27 Feb 2016 York Hall, London, England Won vacant Southern Area cruiserweight title
19 Win 14–5 Jindrich Velecky PTS 6 16 Jan 2016 The O2 Arena, London, England
18 Win 13–5 Yavor Marinchev PTS 4 17 Oct 2015 York Hall, London, England
17 Loss 12–5 Craig Kennedy TKO 7 (8), 1:49 13 Mar 2015 Newport Centre, Newport, Wales
16 Loss 12–4 Craig Kennedy DQ 2 (8), 2:03 24 Oct 2014 Rhydycar Leisure Centre, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales Camacho disqualified for biting
15 Loss 12–3 Stephen Simmons TKO 10 (10), 1:01 27 Jun 2014 Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland For vacant WBC International Silver cruiserweight title
14 Win 12–2 Toni Visic TKO 4 (4), 1:04 4 Apr 2014 York Hall, London, England
13 Win 11–2 John Anthony TKO 3 (4), 0:46 14 Dec 2013 ExCel Arena, London, England
12 Loss 10–2 Tony Conquest UD 10 5 Oct 2013 The O2 Arena, London, England
11 Win 10–1 Attila Palko TKO 2 (4), 2:01 29 Jun 2013 Bolton Arena, Middlebrook, England
10 Win 9–1 Hari Miles KO 2 (3), 1:47 18 May 2013 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter: The Cruiserweights III – Final
9 Win 8–1 Nathan Owens UD 3 18 May 2013 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter: The Cruiserweights III – Semi-final
8 Win 7–1 Martin Grainger UD 3 18 May 2013 York Hall, London, England Prizefighter: The Cruiserweights III – Quarter-final
7 Loss 6–1 China Clarke RTD 7 (10), 3:00 9 Mar 2013 Wembley Arena, London, England For vacant English cruiserweight title
6 Win 6–0 Hari Miles TKO 7 (10), 1:12 8 Dec 2012 Olympia, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Andrew Ingram TKO 2 (6), 2:41 8 Sep 2012 Alexandra Palace, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Paul Morris RTD 3 (6), 0:01 20 Jun 2012 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Igoris Borucha PTS 4 20 May 2012 York Hall, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Rolandas Cesna TKO 2 (4), 2:49 4 Mar 2012 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Moses Matovu PTS 4 28 Jan 2012 York Hall, London, England

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Boxing record for Wadi Camacho". BoxRec.
  2. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Moses Matovu". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Rolandas Cesna". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  4. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Igoris Borucha". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  5. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Paul Morris". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  6. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Andrew Ingram". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Hari Miles". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. China Clarke". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  9. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Martin Grainger". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Nathan Owens". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Hari Miles". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ^ Higham, Paul (19 May 2013). "Prizefighter: Wadi Camacho beats Hari Miles in Cruiserweight final". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  13. ^ Maylett, Chris (30 June 2013). "Anthony Crolla Comes Through Gavin Rees Test". British Boxing BBTV. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Joshua Destroys Leo: Quigg, Salinas Go To a Draw". BoxingScene.com. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Tony Conquest". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Stephen Simmons suffers broken rib, ruled out of Wadi Camacho fight". Sky Sports. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  17. ^ "We Got the KO Ending, So It's All Good! Stephen Simmons vs Wadi Camacho Post Fight". Tha Boxing Voice. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Craig Kennedy Eyes Title Shot After Wadi Camacho Win". BoxingScene.com. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  19. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Yavor Marinchev". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  20. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Jindrich Velecky". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  21. ^ Redigolo, Tim (29 February 2016). "Double Southern Area Title Action At York Hall Delights Fans". Boxing News and Views. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  22. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Danny Couzens". boxrec.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  23. ^ Hobbs, Tim (30 September 2016). "Isaac Chamberlain outpoints Wadi Camacho for Southern Area title". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  24. ^ Whaley, Len (17 March 2017). "Boxing: Wadi Camacho seeks to regain Southern Area cruiserweight title by beating Karl Wheeler". Ilford Recorder. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  25. ^ Theobald, Martin (20 March 2017). "Ringside report: Steve Goodwin's Bethnal Bedlam". Ring News 24. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  26. ^ Euan-Smith, Simon (13 July 2017). "King of England". Boxing News. Retrieved 7 March 2023 – via PressReader.
  27. ^ "Ossie Jervier handed Wadi Camacho title chance on Sept 23". World Boxing News. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  28. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Ossie Jervier". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  29. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Jose Lopes". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  30. ^ "BoxRec: Wadi Camacho vs. Danny Couzens II". boxrec.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Boxing: Camacho celebrates biggest win of career". Newham Recorder. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  32. ^ Gilbert, Peter (23 March 2019). "Edwards vs Moreno: Lawrence Okolie unifies the Commonwealth and British cruiserweight titles with a TKO victory over Wadi Camacho". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  33. ^ Domin, Martin (4 October 2019). "Boxer Wadi Camacho 'arrested on suspicion of terrorism'". mirror. Retrieved 15 June 2020.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Lawrence Bennett
Southern Area cruiserweight champion
27 February 2016 – 29 September 2016
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Isaac Chamberlain
Southern Area cruiserweight champion
18 March 2017 – October 2018
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Deion Jumah
Vacant
Title last held by
Lawrence Okolie
Commonwealth cruiserweight champion
17 November 2018 – 23 March 2019
Succeeded by
Lawrence Okolie