Margarito camp apologizes to Roach for 'bad behavior' in video -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—Come Fight Night at Cowboys Stadium Saturday, fighters Antonio Margarito and Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios may give blood in the ring.

On Thursday, they along with their mutually shared trainer, Robert Garcia, were only giving apologies.

The troubled trio profusely and believably apologized for being part of an AOL Fan House video interview in which they appeared to make fun of Manny Pacquiao trainer Coach Freddie Roach's Parkinson's condition.

Both Margarito and undercard boxer Rios came across as they they were mocking the boxing-related disease which often causes the 50 year old Roach to tremble like a leaf in high winds.

With two days to go before the previously disgraced with illegal handwraps Mexican Margarito matches ring skills with the Pinoy Idol, the li Seckback produced and reported video set off a media firestorm.

Having seen so much in his soon to be 79 years on the planet and knowing as a veteran promoter that almost any added controversy can help sell a PPV TV fight, Bob Arum took the long view.

Margarito seemed to begin to offer a Tricky Dick Nixon sort of weasel apology, saying the video has been maliciouly edited but offered no proof.

There was real substance to the rest of public statement and it seemed to be completely sincere.

Margarito came down to the undercard presser at host hotel Gaylord Texan and said he was apologizing to Roach and to anyone else offended by the video action.

"I want to tell the fans and everyone in Mexico that I was really bothered by this video, but I am calm and God knows I'm not making fun of anything. I did say that 'he was scared' and shook my hands, but I was not making making fun of him. I don't want people to be confused because it's not true," Margarito said.

"If he really wants an apology, I have no problem with that because I know I'm not laughing at his disease. I can look him straight in the eyes and tell him...'I'm not laughing at you, I respect you.'"

Rios, a 26 year old top prospect from Oxnard by way of Garden City, Kansas, who Top Rank is very high on, also took to the podium, noted that he as a four year old brother with a crippling ailment and said his intent was not to ridicule Roach.

Best of all, former world champion Garcia placed a call to Roach's room and told Pacman's tutor it was just a case of camp versus trash talking that crossed the line.

“It was bad behavior,” Arum said. “But now they have all apologized for their actions so I say let's turn the page, move on.”

"I think Freddie accepts the apology," Garcia said. "He said, 'I wish you good luck on Saturday' and I said the same to him. This was trash talking, it was not directed at Freddie's disability or any disease. We went a bit overboard on the trash talk, that is what happened here.

"It was all a big mistake, really. I contribute money every month to the children's hospital in Oxnard and I financially support their big radiothon every year. We're very supportive of Brandon's little brother, we call him 'Special Jay.'

As way of background on Rios, Garcia said boxing has been a personal salvation.

"If he was back in Garden City, he would be addicted to drugs and/or in the jail. Everytime he went back there, I was afraid he would wind up in jail."

Away from the hot TV lights microphones, Rios said he knew the camp was "looking bad" and that he had no problem making an apology.

"It was nothing personal to Freddie Roach, we got caught in the moment but it was not personal. I feel bad about it now.I heard about the (public) reaction and I'm like, what the bleep, dude? I got a four year old brother with a bad illness. This was just two months of back and forth hot words between our camps, that's all."

Roach said he accepted Garcia's apology but, in terms of what Rios and Margarito did or intended to do in the video, I'd say Coach Roach is forgiving but not forgetting.

"I was mad but now I am not," Roach said. "Robert seemed to be really sincere in what he said to me this morning on the phone, I accepted his apology."

Finally, the contretemps will have zero effect on the fight between Pacquiao and Margarito.

They were planning to brawl before this brouhaha popped up.

Michael Marley...reporting!

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com