 |
| FREDDIE ROACH |
Unfortunately, it's nothing to be proud of and, hopefully, nothing to be used in promoting a prizefight.
Roach, who was reportedly on time to bring his team into the gym, butted heads with Garcia, who stated that he would be leaving soon, after finishing up a workout abbreviated by some obligatory interviews. The situation escalated quickly from there, prompted by an extremely inappropriate Roach.
"Get the [expletive] out of here," Roach tells Garcia on the video recorded by reporter Elie Seckbach. Then, he refers to Garcia as a "piece of [expletive]."
Alex Ariza, former strength and conditioning coach for Pacquiao now working for Brandon Rios, gets into a back and forth with Roach that results in him giving Roach a front kick.
From there, bodies rush in, security appears and the real nastiness emerges.
In two separate instances during the altercation, Roach uses race-infused language to strike back, calling a member of Team Rios a "Mexican [expletive]" and then while urging security to arrest Ariza for assault, he singles out Elie Seckbach, who is videotaping the incident, and says, "Get him the [expletive] out of here, too, [expletive] Jew [expletive]."
And while Roach appears to be losing it and forgetting that several cameras are rolling, Team Rios helps in agitating the situation by mocking Roach's Parkinson's stutter with Ariza using a homophobic slur to attack the trainer.
Roach's subsequent statements regarding the incident were dishonest and insulting to all those who had seen the entire altercation on video:
"[Ariza] kicked me in the chest and ran away," Roach said. "Then, one of the bodyguards, I don't know his name, but he's a strong Mexican kid, he started yelling and screaming to get out of the [expletive] gym. I said, 'What, are you the Mexican tough guy?' He came after me and that got broken up. Then, Elie Seckbach started filming and I said, 'Why is this happening, Freddie Roach?' I said, 'Are you the Jewish reporter,' and he said, 'What, are you a racist?' And I said, 'No. I just don't know your name.' "
Obviously, boxing is a tough business and not a single man in that training facility is a saint. Nobody is going to hide under the covers, quivering because of what happened, and the racial stuff, as ugly as that was, will probably just bounce of the thick hides of men who live in and around the world of combat.
So, no matter what happened Wednesday morning in China, Pacquiao and Rios will still fight and the best man will still emerge victorious.
But it's the fans who should remember this incident and let it work its way into their brains the next time Roach is painted as this smiling, pleasant and benevolent character.
Remember what he said and did when he thought nobody was watching and the clumsy way he tried to cover his tracks when heat began to fall on him. There's no doubt that Team Rios jumped in with crude personal insults based on Roach's disorder, but it was Roach who escalated the initial confrontation and it was Roach who brought race and religion into the picture.
As a fan, first and foremost, I'll never forget the day we saw the ugly side of Freddie Roach. In the grand scheme of things, maybe it's something really, really small, but it's something that should stick. Media shouldn't sweep it under the carpet because they've always had a good relationship with him in the past.
Most people with secret axes to grind don't go out of their way to reveal these grudges in casual public discourse.
This whole mess may generate some interest in a fight that, up until now, has been slow to build a buzz, but it sure leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.
No comments:
Post a Comment