Hector Camacho mourned in Harlem funeral

Hundreds mourned boxer Hector Camacho Saturday in the East Harlem church he attended as a boy, and hundreds more cheered and shouted "Macho" when his coffin was carried out and loaded into a hearse afterward.

"Hector lived the American dream, to come from simple beginnings and to be known by thousands of people," the Rev. Frank Skelly said. "He could lift us up, and he could break our hearts. He could inspire us and at times disappoint us."

Camacho, 50, a native of Puerto Rico who moved to East Harlem as a child, was shot in the face Nov. 20 while sitting in a parked car with a friend outside a bar in Bayamon, his hometown in the U.S. territory. The friend died at the scene. The boxer died after doctors removed life support. Police said they have suspects but have not yet arrested anyone.

There was no mention of Camacho's bloody end during the funeral Mass at St. Cecilia, an imposing brick and terra cotta church that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Skelly, the church's former pastor, said he remembered Camacho as a child in the 1970s. "I really didn't see much of Hector after he left our school, so I still see him as a little boy, and I think that's how God sees him," he said.

Camacho's coffin was carried into the church draped in a Puerto Rican flag, which was replaced by a white cloth adorned with a cross during the service.

Hundreds of mourners waited across the street for a chance to say farewell to Camacho before his burial at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx.

Camacho won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s. He had a career record of 79-6-3.