RICHARDO & EDUARDO CAMACHO
By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com
HARLINGEN, TX—San Benito brothers Ricardo “Kid Dynamo” and Eduardo “The Assassin” Camacho are set to fight on the same card in Laredo next week, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
Dubbed Fight Fest 2024, the night of boxing marks Eduardo’s professional debut and Ricardo’s fourth pro match — Ricardo enters the ring boasting a 1-0-1 record, having recorded a victory by decision during his most recent fight last month at Brownsville’s Jacob Brown Auditorium.
At age 30, and despite having stepped into the ring as pro on three other occasions, Ricardo admittedly says that his younger brother is the more natural boxer of the two, adding that his sibling’s pro debut has been a longtime coming.
“There’s pressure on him because they expect him to do great things in boxing,” Ricardo says of his brother. “He asks me what it is like stepping into the ring as a pro. He asks if I get nervous, and I say, ‘No, not nervous, just anxious.’ I tell him, ‘Just do your thing. You’re already a great fighter. You just gotta work on your stamina, stay in the gym (and work on your conditioning).’”
The duo was introduced to the sport through the San Benito CISD’s Afterschool Program by their current trainer, Abel Fonseca, another San Benito native who is still employed by the Afterschool Program.
Both siblings say that while they had an appreciation for soccer and causally partook in the sport, their true calling was in the ring, adding that they began following the sport through their father who is a boxing fan.
Fonseca led Eduardo to compete in at the Golden Gloves level however, as the years passed and life got in the way, both brothers stepped away from boxing, only to find their way back into the ring relatively recently.
“He (Ricardo) came up to me and said he wanted to go pro, and I said, ‘all right,’” Fonseca recalled during a recent training session at Legends Boxing Gym on Harrison in Harlingen, adding that he’s hard pressed to recall a more disciplined and determined competitor than the elder pugilist.
Ricardo Camacho battled a more experienced fighter for his first pro fight, which resulted in a no contest ruling, a conclusion that Camacho and his team could live with given the experience of his opponent and the fact that the ruling resulted from a head-butt by Camacho’s opponent which resulted in a cut to Camacho’s head.
His second professional fight occurred on Saturday, April 27, at Brownsville Sports Park as he was third on the card during Marines’ Promotions, “Fight Night 2” featuring international fighters from as far as San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Monterrey, Mexico.
Once again, Camacho faced a more experienced fighter yet walked away with a split decision, taking home half of the purse.
Then, last month at Jacob Brown Auditorium, Camacho stepped out of the ring with an outright decision in his favor. He’s now hoping to keep the winning momentum going next week in Laredo.
Eduardo, meanwhile, is looking to make a name for himself with an impressive showing in his pro debut, adding that the brothers help critique and motivate each other. “I’ve seen all three of his fights. He’s getting better and better. I try to tell him what I know and what I see, but at the end of the day, it’s his job to get the job done,” Eduardo said of his older brother.
At 25 years old, Eduardo, who’s not married, says he plans on focusing on the sport, hoping to make his mark on the local boxing scene, if not beyond.
“Just tune into the fight. I’m ready to go. I’m going for the KO, TKO, but we’ll see what happens,” he said.
As previously reported by the NEWS, Camacho is not the first fighter Fonseca has led to a high level of completion. In 2005, one standout moment came when a young boxer named Santana Sanchez from Ed Downs Elementary made it to the semifinals of the Ringside World Tournament, facing formidable opponents from places such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Hawaii. Though the match ended in a close decision loss to a Canadian boxer, it was a testament to Fonseca’s impact on the local youth he was training within the program.
Those interested in the after school boxing program or in Legends Boxing Gym can contact Fonseca at abelfonsecaii@hotmail.com or call (956) 456-6859.
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