After Manny Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez, two members of Pacquiao’s entourage, Michael Koncz and Buboy Fernandez, punched and kicked Getty Images photographer Al Bello out of the ring, preventing Bello from getting a picture of Pacquiao lying face down on the mat.
Bello said that he feared he would have been seriously injured if did not exit the ring.
“Had I not gotten off the ring, I have no doubt the two of them would have beaten the [expletive] out of me and I might have been seriously hurt,” Bello told Yahoo! Sports.
Bello defended himself, saying he is a fan of Pacquiao and that he was simply doing his job.
“Nobody likes doing that, but I was where I was credentialed to be and I was trying to do my job, which is to document the event,” Bello said. “It’s no different than the war photographers who have to shoot what is happening on a battlefield. Nobody wants to do that, but you have to document the history.
“I’ve been a fan of Manny and I have shot a lot of his fights. I watched all the ’24/7s’ [on HBO], but what happened here was not right.”
The scuffle is under review by the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, Keith Kizer, who said that he would consider penalties against Koncz and Fernandez.
“What I find interesting is that neither of these gentlemen, nor anyone else on Team Pacquiao, had any problems when the photographers were doing their jobs and shooting pictures of Ricky Hatton after Manny knocked Hatton out,” Kizer said.
Kizer told Bello to contact authorities about the incident, but Bello said he was only seeking an apology from Koncz and Fernandez.
