2023 Comeback Attempts! Melissa Hernandez at 43, Hector Camacho Jr. at 44, Aaron Pryor Jr. at 45, and 50 Year Old Ruben Galvan Lead The List

2023 Comeback Attempts! Melissa Hernandez at 43, Hector Camacho Jr. at 44, Aaron Pryor Jr. at 45, and 50 Year Old Ruben Galvan Lead The List

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

 The months of July, August and September 2023 will also note the boxing comeback attempts of some boxing names, who seek a significant return to glory long after the lights have faded. The odds of these comeback attempts range from slight to far reaching, and several months from now, this reporter is going to do a follow up on how some of these known names fared in their attempts to return to professional ring glory.

One such name returning to the boxing ring is Hector ‘Macho Machito’ Camacho Jr., age 44, son of the late great legendary multiple division world champion Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho. The younger Camacho, a Puerto Rican southpaw with a record of 59-7-1 with 33 knockouts, New York City, New York, will return to the ring for the first time since knocking out Victor Abreu in Delaware in May 2019. Camacho will return at super middleweight on August 26, 2023, at Cheyenne Ice and Events Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, against 17-21-1 Steve Marquez of Denver, Colorado.

Aaron Pryor Jr., age 45, son of the late great World Junior Welterweight champion Aaron Pryor, 23-11-2 with 15 knockouts, Cincinnati, Ohio, will attempt a comeback on September 2, 2023, at City Auditorium, Natchez, Mississippi, against an opponent to be named in a six rounder. Pryor, a winner of his last four bouts, has been inactive since stopping Anthony LaCaze in four rounds in September 2022.

Ruben Galvan, age 50, 27-26-4 with 10 knockouts, will attempt a comeback on July 22, 2023, at Lincoln Center, Highland, Indiana. Galvin has lost 16 of his last 19 comeback attempts, with two draws to Leroy Newton, and one no contest. Galvan’s last win was a third round stoppage of 4-15 Brian Paul at Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana, in November 2006. Back in the day, Galvan fought such names as Zab Judah, Dmitriy Salita, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Paul Spadafora, Jorge Paez, Marty Jacobowski, and Mexican Olympic Bronze medalist Cristian Bejarano. In October 2005, Galvan won the vacant Indiana State Super Lightweight title by 10 round split decision at Caesars Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana over Ryan Maraldo. Galvan subsequently lost the title by decision to Jaime Alvarado, a fighter he had both beaten and lost to by decision previously.

Vaughn ‘The Animal’ Alexander, age 37, 17-7-1 with 10 knockouts, Saint Louis, Missouri, will return at super middleweight on July 29, 2023, at The Ambassador Club in Saint Louis, Missouri, against Brian Damian Chaves, 14-3 with five knockouts, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Alexander last appeared in the ring in December 2022, when he lost a unanimous decision to BoxRec 24-0 number seven contender Christian Mbilli, winning only one round one the scorecard of one judge.

Lamar Russ, ‘The Boxing Que’, age 36, now 18-3 with nine knockouts, Wilmington, North Carolina, will return at light heavyweight at The National Guard Armory in Fayetteville on July 29, 2023, against Manny Woods, 17-19-1, Saint Petersburg, Florida, in a four rounder. Russ last appeared in the ring in March 2022, when he scored a seventh round knockout of Ricardo Vasquez Becerril at SouthPaw Arena in Rock Hill.

Melissa Hernandez, age 43, ‘The Hurican Shark’, 23-8-3 with seven knockouts, Miami Beach, Florida, a former female World Featherweight, Super Featherweight, Lightweight, and Super Lightweight champion, will face 7-6 Brian Cohen fighter Carla Torres in a scheduled super lightweight six rounder on July 29, 2023, at John T. Rhodes Sports Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the preliminary bout to the main event of a Christy Martin Entertainment eleven bout card.

Hernandez last appeared in the ring two years ago, where she came off the canvas, and was later stopped by BoxRec undisputed number one super lightweight 18-0 Chantelle Cameron in the fifth round of a World Boxing Council Female World Super Lightweight title bout. Cameron is coming off a title defense over Katie Taylor. Given her experience, Hernandez, if she has anything left in her shark’s tank, should still be dangerous even at age 43.

Former southpaw NABA Cruiserweight champion and regional USA West Virginia Heavyweight champion Keith ‘No Holes’ Barr, age 38, 20-14-1 with eight knockouts, Glenville, West Virginia, will attempt a comeback against 4-16 southpaw Turner Williams in a four rounder of Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 5, 2023, at Boyd County Community Center, in Catlettsburg, West Virginia.

Former super featherweight world title challenger Miguel Flores, 25-4-1 with 12 knockouts, a Mexican fighting out of Spring, Texas, will attempt a comeback in Houston, Texas, on August 12, 2023, in an eight rounder against an opponent to be named. Flores last appeared in the ring in September 2022, when he fought to a 10 round majority draw with former world champion Abner Mares at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

Dusty Hernandez Harrison, age 29, 34-0-1 with 20 knockouts, Washington, D.C., who last appeared in the ring in February 2020 when he knocked out Les Sherrington in the second round at Tysons Playground in Vienna, Virginia, pre-Pandemic, will attempt a comeback after 36 months of inactivity on September 15, 2023, in a scheduled eight rounder in Richmond, Virginia, against Ronald Montes, 19-18-1 with 17 knockouts, Barranquilla, Columbia. Montes has been stopped four times within five rounds in the past 18 months, so Harrison’s comeback journey is sure to be successful against the correctly selected opponent.