Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach accepts apology from Antonio Margarito's camp
Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach has accepted the apology issued by Antonio Margarito, who will fight Pacquiao for the super welterweight title this weekend.
Margarito allegedly mocked Roach, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, in a video showing the boxer purposely shaking his hand. The Mexican boxer, his trainer Robert Garcia and stablemate Brandon Rios had since issued an apology to Roach.
Rios said, "First of all, I want to get one thing off my chest. If Freddie Roach is out there, I'm, sorry. Things got heated up in the moment and I'm sorry. It was between camps. It was a bad video from my behalf."
Margarito likewise apologized to Roach, asserting that he never intended to make fun of Roach and his disease.
The boxer explained, "The tape was edited.I was just arriving at the gym when someone said to me, 'Hey, Margarito, Freddie Roach says Manny Pacquiao is going to knock you out.' I said, 'Ooh, what fear!' and shook my hands."
Antonio Margarito then apologized to Pacquiao's coach and to those who suffers from Parkinson's like Freddie Roach, who may have been offended by the video.
"Never, never, would I make fun of that disease," said the Mexican boxer.
Margarito's trainer Garcia said he talked to Roach over the phone and told him he was sorry for the video.
Pacquiao and Margarito will face off at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, with Pacquiao eyeing for his eighth title and Margarito seeking redemption from widely-reported cheating incident that cost him his license in California and several other States.