Freddie Roach, Alex Ariza & Robert Garcia BRAWL: Manny Pacquiao – Brandon Rios Gets Personal – BOXING NEWS

By Geno McGahee

The same fairy tale that has surrounded Manny Pacquiao has also graced the life of Freddie Roach. Pacquiao’s “good Christian” front was exposed by his out of the ring activities and Roach was largely exposed with the many HBO documentaries where he was featured. He would often talk down to people and carry a big chip on his shoulder. The idea of two good guys making it in the game is a good story, but it’s a work of fiction and we saw more proof of it as Roach attempted to throw his weight around and rattle Team Rios. He got more than he bargained for.

Walking into the gym, Roach demanded that the team leave and called trainer, Robert Garcia a “piece of shit.” Alex Ariza would have words with Roach and then kick him in the chest. There is plenty of bad blood there. Ariza worked for years as Pacquiao’s conditioning coach before Roach fired him and now he works for Team Rios and would like nothing more then to see an upset happen on Saturday in China.

There is a lot of emphasis being placed on Ariza using homophobic terms and references to the Parkinson’s disease that Roach lives with, but there is little to no attention to the anti-Mexican comments that Roach was making in that chaos. Granted, Ariza did assault him, and he shouldn’t have, but considering he lost his livelihood and has been publicly bashed by Roach, it’s understandable.

Keep in mind that Roach was supportive of Panama Lewis, one of the biggest scumbags in the business and that many of the Roach fighters have come up dirty when tested for performance enhancing drugs. This is not an allegation, but there is some questioning to the character of this trainer.

Robert Garcia, the most innocent in the party, would later say that he respected Roach and never said a bad word about him and that he was shocked that he was approached in that fashion. The fact of the matter is that Roach’s meal ticket is on the line on Saturday and he’s feeling the pinch, as evident by his behavior with Garcia and his camp. He knows that Pacquiao has his hands full and may not have that much left and if he loses, where does Roach’s next star come from? Most have abandoned him at this point.

Stay tuned…Saturday night might turn into a fun night after all…