LOS ANGELES?It wasn?t like previous press conferences where both fighters refused to see each other in the eye.
At the Westin Bonaventure Hotel here, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez came face-to-face for the first time, diffusing the growing animosity between Filipino and Mexican fans by exchanging pleasantries instead of threats.
It was, in fact, the tamest thing that happened Wednesday.
Fans from both sides nearly came to blows after two die-hard Pacquiao supporters started arguing with a couple of Mexican journalists?who in turn challenged them to a fistfight?over the Filipino?s chances of taking Marquez?s two world featherweight titles on May 8 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
Police assistance was immediately sought to control the suddenly rowdy crowd.
?We have to break them apart and see to it that no one gets closer to the other [camp] till the end. We fear there would be a rumble anytime if we let loose of one [fan],? said Los Angeles police officer Warren Smith Jr.
As the rumble died down, Pacquiao, who came with US promoter Murad Muhammad, said: ?This is a very important fight for me.?
?I have to win this if I want to fight [Mexican world champion] Eric Morales this July,? added the General Santos City native, drawing loud whispers from the media present with his comment.
?Marquez is a great fighter and I respect him as the champ, but I am a champ too,? said ?PacMan,? who sports a 38-2-1 win-loss-draw card with 29 matches rendering the scorecards useless.
Marquez, the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association featherweight champion, brags of a 42-2 win-loss record, with 33 wins via knockout.
He stopped Manuel ?Mantecas? Medina in the seventh round of their February meeting last year to capture the vacant IBF featherweight title, then smote Derrick ?Smoke? Gainer last October to snatch the WBA crown.
Also known as ?Dinamita,? Marquez said he respects Pacquiao and even commended the latter for his outstanding performance against the once mighty Marco Antonio Barrera at San Antonio, Texas last year.
?He?s very good,? Marquez admitted. ?He was fast and furious and he turned him [Barrera] like a newcomer inside the ring.?
Marquez assured everyone, however, that he would not suffer the same fate as Barrera.
?There will be fire in the ring,? he said. ?It took a lot for me to become a world champion and only to death I will surrender these belts.
?I?m fighting not only for myself but also for my wife, my children, my parents, my country and my people.?
It was through that fight that Pacquiao earned the respect of the boxing world by dominating the so-called ?Baby-Faced Assassin? throughout their 11-round bout.
