What started as a somber memorial for a boxing legend turned into an all-out brawl.
A fight broke out Tuesday at the two-day viewing ceremony in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, for former world champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, who died Saturday from gunshot wounds suffered four days earlier. Relatives became incensed when a woman leaned down and kissed the fallen boxer in his casket, according to multiple reports.
USA Today reports that 28-year-old Cynthia Castillo, sporting a pink T-shirt with Camacho's face on the front, enraged Camacho's sisters and former girlfriend Gloria Fernandez, 50, by then entering the family's private section.
After Camacho's sisters apparently told Castillo to leave, grieving guests watched in confusion as the women began slapping and swinging at each other. After taking the argument outside the viewing room, police were called to calm the scene.
Castillo told USA Today she was Camacho's girlfriend at the time of his death.
"I am the actual girlfriend of Macho, and those who don't like it better not bring it," Castillo said. "They shouldn't be going after me. They should be thanking me for being with him at all times."
Castillo told ESPN Deportes that Fernandez and Camacho's sisters, Esther and Estrella, demanded that she leave the ceremony.
"I went to get something to eat because Machito (Hector Camacho Jr.) told me to, and (Fernandez) came up to me and told me that I had to leave," Castillo said. "I said no, so they threw my plate of food and attacked me, and I defended myself."
El Nuevo Dia reports that authorities convinced Castillo to leave, while family members returned to the surreal ceremony as visitors continued to pay their respects.
According to USA Today, Camacho's body was flown to New York on Thursday, for another scheduled viewing and funeral on Saturday morning in the Bronx.
