Crowd incident at Mayweather fight was 'wild scene'

LAS VEGAS — After watching the Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana welterweight title fight Saturday night, John Morgan, a mixed martial arts reporter for MMAJunkie.com, was leaving the MGM Grand Garden Arena when he suddenly found himself in the middle of a stampede of people pushing toward the casino.

"You could see the scared looks on peoples' faces," Morgan told USA TODAY Sports by phone Sunday. "Some people got pushed to the ground. We got caught up in the swell a little but fortunately we were out of the main traffic. But it was certainly a hectic scene."

Morgan said he was struck by the number of women's shoes that littered the floor. A sellout crowd of 16,268 attended the fight. "They were probably running and lost their high heels, but it was such a wild scene."Twenty-four people were taken to local hospitals as MGM Grand security and police on the scene responded quickly to the incident, the MGM Grand said in a statement released Sunday afternoon.

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Fans leaving the arena were "apparently startled by a loud noise," the statement said. "Investigators have found no evidence of gunfire, as reported by some media outlets.

"Safety is always a priority at our resort. We are investigating the situation thoroughly to understand more completely what occurred, to assist those affected, and to ensure further safety precautions," the statement said.

Clark County Fire Department battalion chief Eric Poleski told Yahoo Sports on Saturday night that the loud noise came from "a temporary wall that had fallen over and made a loud bang ... so they started stampeding," he said.

Calls to the Las Vegas Metro Police Department were not immediately returned.

Morgan, who lives in Las Vegas, said the aftermath was "pretty ugly."

"There were some elder patrons that were on the floor and they were being helped up and trampled a little bit.

"Didn't look real serious, but there was one thing that stuck with me. An elderly gentleman in a wheelchair that had been toppled over and had blood coming out of his mouth. That was a scary scene."People trying to escape the crush poured into the media center, where the post-fight news conferences had not started. The doors were eventually locked when order was restored.

"This was a stampede of people and unfortunately it was overwhelming people," Morgan said. "At the frozen yogurt place, there were drinks, and people had thrown over tables and stuff and furniture was all upended. Drinks were poured everywhere, and they blasted in the pressroom to escape the crush."

The MGM Grand did not immediately respond to questions about whether there will be changes made to the exits from the arena. After the fight, the majority of people are herded into the casino area.