Juan Manuel Marquez poses for photos with fans late Saturday after arriving at LAX (Chris Farina/Top Rank)Juan Manuel Marquez, who fights Manny Pacquiao on Saturday in the fourth installment of their epic rivalry at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, had a bit of a scare as he broke camp.
Top Rank arranged for a private plane to take Marquez from Mexico City this past Saturday to Los Angeles. Marquez was scheduled to do media appearances on Sunday and in the day on Monday in Los Angeles before flying to Las Vegas.
But as the plane began to taxi down the runway, there was a loud sound. There was an issue with one of the plane's tires. The pilot made a U-turn and went back to the hangar and determined the tire problem would prevent it from flying.
Marquez ultimately had to fly commercial and got into Los Angeles about six hours after planned. But he said it was not that big of a deal.
"I got a little nervous, a little scared, because I could hear the noise coming from the tire on the runway," Marquez said. "It happened as we were picking up speed to take off, but we never left the ground. I'm just happy that wasn't the case that we were landing."