LAS VEGAS?Juan Manuel Marquez alighted from the black stretched limousine clad in a sport jacket with his World Boxing Council super featherweight belt slung on his left shoulder.
According to Marquez, the title belt wasn?t merely there for display. He said it symbolized his determination to keep the title he wrested from fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera and defended against another countryman, Rocky Juarez, last September.
?I am hanging on to this belt and it?s not going to be taken away from me,? said Marquez in Spanish. ?And if Mannny tries to get it away, it will cost him a lot.?
Marquez was swarmed by fans as a mariachi band played lively nationalistic music when he arrived at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on Tuesday.
About 30 minutes earlier, challenger Manny Pacquiao, who arrived in a gold-painted limo, entered the same revolving glass door for the arrival ceremony for their March 15 rematch dubbed ?Unfinished Business.?
?I think the same way as Pacquiao,? said Marquez as he signed autographs, posters and boxing gloves. ?The people will watch a great fight and a war. I fight for my country and for my people.?
Pacquiao, his goatee gone and wearing a white long-sleeved polo, also dedicated the megabuck bout, to God, country and the Filipino people.
Aware of Pacquio?s reputation as destroyer of top Mexican boxers, including Barrera and Erik Morales, Marquez said he trained long and hard to be in the best shape possible.
?I just think it is going to be a tough fight and I don?t know whether I will win by knockout or decision,? he said. ?Manny said he trained hard for this fight because he is fighting me and so did I.?
The entrance and exit of the protagonists for the WBC crown and the long vacant Ring Magazine title at the hotel took just over an hour.
Meanwhile, ticket sales for the mega-buck bout remained brisk.
Tickets costing $500, $300, $200 and $100 were all gone, with only a few $600 and $400 tickets still available.
