Eddie Mustafa Muhammad speaking inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
For the past 24 hours, the boxing world has been buzzing about the altercation that took place in Macau, China between Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach and members from Brandon Rios’ camp, including trainer Robert Garcia and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.
Pacquiao faces Rios this Saturday night in an HBO pay per view event that has seen its interest rise because of the theatrics.
In various videos that have circulated online, Roach could be seen exchanging words with Garcia and moments later getting kicked by Ariza as the dialogue continued to heat up.
The argument stemmed from Roach wanting to clear out Garcia and Rios from the gym the camps were sharing so he could work with his fighters. When Garcia attempted to explain that Rios was simply running a little behind schedule, Roach began to get irate.
Throughout the ordeal, Roach could been seen calling Donald Leary, one of Garcia’s assistant trainers, a “Mexican mother*cker” and later referring to reporter Elie Seckbach as a “Jew mother*cker”.
And despite being labeled a “f*ggot” by Ariza and seeming to be mocked for his Parkinson’s disease, nearly all of the backlash has seemed to fall on Roach.
Catching up with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad on Wednesday afternoon, the former light heavyweight champion and current day trainer expressed his disappointment in Roach’s actions.
“Well, I saw that Mr. Garcia tried to avoid it,” Muhammad stated. “He was just sitting down, being polite. Freddie was mouthing off, doing all the talking. When he said what he said, a racial slur, come on man. We’re in one brotherhood. Everybody is the same in boxing.
“There shouldn’t be, and I would always think that there is no racism in boxing,” Muhammad added. “But, apparently, the way Freddie came out, that was crazy. He owes the Mexican fans and the regular boxing fans an apology.”
Asked if perhaps Roach was simply heated because he was caught up in the moment, Muhammad pointed out that someone with Roach’s experience in the game should know when to hold off.
“It can’t be,” Muhammad explained. “Freddie is used to this thing. This is not his first rodeo. If you can’t control your temper, how are you going to control your fighter when he’s in a heated battle?”
Despite all of the chaos, Muhammad doesn’t expect the temperament of either fighter to be altered when the bells rings on Saturday night.
“Brandon Rios is going to go in with the temperament that he always goes in with; seek and destroy,” said Muhammad. “Pacquiao is going to do the same thing. Probably use the same speed. I think Pacquiao may use the same technique when he fought [Margarito]; just outbox him.”
PLEASE CHECK BELOW for more videos on the brawl in Macau plus bonus Pacquiao-Rios coverage
Freddie Roach opens up on the confrontation with Team Rios, his racist comments, and the aftermath
Near brawl in Macau as Freddie Roach confronts Team Rios and gets kicked by Alex Ariza
Manny Pacquiao showing off his speed and power in Macau ahead of showdown with Rios
Manny Pacquiao full core workout in Macau, China days before clash with Brandon Rios
Manny Pacquiao opens up on his training for Rios, Brandon’s power, the Typhoon in the Philippines, and more
Freddie Roach calls Brandon Rios a ‘pretender’ and eyes Floyd Mayweather for Manny Pacquiao
Shawn Porter feels the old Manny Pacquiao will return against Brandon Rios
Brandon Rios believes that his pressure will negate Manny Pacquiao’s speed
Miguel Diaz says Pacquiao’s knockout loss to Marquez ‘means nothing’; favors him over Rios
Juan Manuel Marquez favors Pacquiao over Brandon Rios but shoots down a fifth fight with Manny
Brandon Rios says people in China don’t like Manny Pacquiao
Gennady Golovkin feels Brandon Rios could suffer the same fate as Margarito did against Pacquiao
Robert Garcia opens up on Alex Ariza joining Team Rios; insists he won’t take any drama in camp
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com