clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVE RAFFO, UPI Sports Writer) (02/03/90)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (UPI) -- Hector ``Macho'' Camacho needs an exciting performance Saturday night against Vinny Pazienza to remain among the sport's upper echelon of money earners. Camacho is a 5-2 favorite, but he needs more than a victory to call the evening a success. Camacho is guaranteed $800,000 to Pazienza's $400,000 for their 12-round junior welterweight bout at the Convention Center. Most of the money comes from pay-per-view, and Camacho's days as a pay-per-view attraction could be coming to a close. Camacho earned over $1 million for a dull 12-round decision over Ray Mancini last March. The bout was typical of Camacho's last seven outings. Since he was hurt twice while retaining his WBC lightweight title by decision in a June 1986 bout against Edwin Rosario, Camacho has done more talking than fighting. Camacho was among the sport's brightest stars when he dominated a 12-round fight against Jose Luis Ramirez in 1985 to win his second world title at 23. Now his star is on the decline. Camacho has always been unpopular; he has become a boring fighter as well. ``At one point in his career Camacho was considered a future great, but he got sidetracked,'' said Kevin Rooney, Pazienza's trainer. ``Ever since Rosario cracked Hector, Hector's been on the run and he hasn't stopped,'' said trainer Emmanuel Steward, whose stable includes Thomas Hearns and Michael Moorer. ``Everybody's dying for this stupid little schizophrenic sucker to get beat,'' Pazienza said. ``The last thing he is is macho.'' Camacho knows if seven-figure paydays against the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker or any of the world welterweight champions are in his future, he has to win impressively Saturday night. ``I'm sure they expect I'm going to run, but those were yesteryears,'' Camacho said. ``I'm back to myself. It's `Macho Time' again. ``I'm going to take it to him.'' Camacho is 38-0 with 17 knockouts. Pazienza, a former lightweight champ, is 28-3 with 23 knockouts. Both fighters are 27-years-old. If Camacho-Pazienza is dull, the bout might be upstaged by the undercard. Whitaker defends his WBC and International Boxing Federation lightweight crowns against No. 1 contender Fred Pendleton and Moorer battles Marcellus Allen in a light heavyweight bout. Whitaker and Moorer have bigger fights on the horizon. Whitaker puts an April bout against two-time champion Azumah Nelson on the line and Moorer is expected to fight the winner of the April 20 Virgil Hill-Charles Williams light heavyweight unification bout. Whitaker, 20-1 with 12 knockouts, said he considers his fight the real main event Saturday, because his titles are more legitimate than the World Boxing Organziation championships held by Camacho and Moorer. ``This is for real, I don't even know how they came up with the WBO,'' Whitaker said. Pendleton's 24-16-3 record is misleading because 15 of his losses came in his first 34 bouts. Since fighting a 10-round draw with Ras-I Bramble in 1987, Pendleton is 7-1 with knockout victories over Bramle and Sammy Fuentes. He also has knockouts over former champion Roger Mayweather and leading welterweight contender Tyrone Trice. Moorer, 17-0 with 17 knockouts, is among the sport's best punchers. Still, he understands why he takes a back seat to Camacho and Pazienza. ``I guess you can say it's all entertainment,'' Moorer said. ``You have two guys promoting themselves. It's all hype.'' Allen, of Portland, Ore., is 12-0 with one knockout.