PABLO – Marvin Camel used boxing to gain fame away from the Flathead Indian Reservation where he was raised.
Now the two-time world champion, along with his brother, Ken, would like to bring boxing back to the home of his youth.
Camel won the World Boxing Congress Cruiserweight Division in 1980 and added the International Boxing Federation title in 1983.
He returned to the reservation Jan. 19 to talk about his professional boxing experiences and the effect they had on his life and also to show videos of his four championship matches and sign autographs.
A smiling and enthusiastic Camel said he hopes to provide a positive image for reservation youth by serving as a role model.
“I beat all odds,” he said in an interview before the three-hour event at the Arlee-Charlo Theater on the Salish Kootenai College campus. “Now I’d like to try to work with the kids and develop another world champion from Montana.”
The 58-year-old Camel, who proudly wore the ornate championship belt he won in Las Vegas in 1980, is the only world boxing champion in the state’s history.
The initial champion of the cruiserweight (175-190) division, which was established for boxers too heavy for the light heavyweight division and too light for heavyweight status, Camel was accorded “Champion for Life” status by the WBC in 2006.
Living in Florida for a number of years, Camel lost his 17-year job with Circuit City when the company went bankrupt last year.
He is now focused on earning an online associate’s degree from Colorado Tech, then a bachelor’s, which he said would enable him to return to the state and follow his vision of teaching pugilistic skills to youth as a way to model positive behavior.
“I’m looking to give the kids opportunities I had,” Camel said.
One of 13 kids, Camel is extremely proud of his Salish heritage and always wore an Indian headdress in the ring for pre-fight introductions. He claimed 14 straight light heavyweight bouts before fighting Mate Parlov in his home country of Yugoslavia for the cruiserweight title in 1979, some six years after turning professional.
The 6-foot 2-inch southpaw, Camel dominated much of the fight, which was declared a draw after Parlov closed strong at the end. In a rematch some three months later in Las Vegas, Camel claimed the inaugural division world championship.
“That win opened a lot of doors, for me and for the Native American people,” Camel told East Side Boxing Magazine in a 2006 interview.
A slim Camel, who often feigns punches during conversation and, while graying, even now looks to be in boxing shape, earned a 51-4-2 mark before his career faded after losing a controversial title decision to Lee Roy Murphy in 1984 in a fight that was stopped because Camel was bleeding from the face.
Camel was philosophical about his title losses.
“If you don’t win it, you can’t defend it,” he said.