Pacquiao's battle with Margarito turns personal

This is certainly one fight Manny Pacquiao is raring to win at all cost. All for the sake of Freddie Roach. Other than the unprecedented eighth world title he is seeking, the 31-year-old Philippine pride will have and additional, personal motivation to beat Antonio Margarito in their 12-round title fight at the Cowboys Stadium this Saturday. The Filipino southpaw comes into the ring aching to settle the issue with Margarito and his gang, who, just a few days ago, mocked the legendary Freddie Roach by making fun of his affliction with Parkinson’s disease. Robert Garcia, Margarito’s trainer and one of three people involved in the gag posted on YouTube just the other day, extended an apology, half-hearted as it was, to Roach and the rest of the Pacquiao camp on Wednesday’s press conference at the spectacular $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium here. “It’s nothing personal. It has nothing to do with his disease, I just want to make it clear," said Garcia. But the damage had obviously been done. Although Pacquiao admitted he has not seen the video, which showed Margarito and another Garcia protégé, Brandon Rios, mimicking Roach by way of uncontrollable shaking of their hands and heads, the Filipino seven-time world champion said the act was done in bad taste. “To me, it’s not good. You have to respect people. I don’t like personal attacks," said Pacquiao, who referred to Roach as "Master." A four-time Trainer of the Year and regarded as the best in the business today, Roach didn’t fire back at Garcia when his turn at the podium came, but let a mouthful against Margarito and his counterpart later on. “They stooped kind of low this time. They showed their true colors," said the 50-year-old trainer and owner of the famed Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, where, incidentally, Garcia once brought his fighters to spar. “He’s not a classy guy. He’s not a good guy," said Roach of the 35-year old Garcia, who was shown on the video pointing to both Rios and Margarito and saying, "That’s Freddie Roach right there." “He is trying to cover it up. I won’t speak to him ever in my life." Both Rios and Margarito denied they were aware of Roach’s condition, with the Mexican stressing, “I respect the man. If you look at the video, I did not ridicule him. I only reacted as if I was afraid. I don’t need to mock him, much less about that condition, nor any other illness." Roach wouldn’t buy any of that. “He (Garcia) certainly didn’t apologize. There was no apology," said Roach. “It is unreal that they said they didn’t know I have Parkinson’s. Everyone in the world knows I have Parkinson’s."
The latest twist is expected to give more drama to the bout pitting the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter against a man once disgraced in the boxing world after being caught with illegal handwraps. With the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders at the background, Pacquiao and Margarito stood side by side together with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum as the WBC junior-middleweight title belt at stake was presented during the photo ops. Then, Arum gave centerstage to the two fighters who willingly obliged for the traditional stare -own, before shaking hands and smiling at each other when everything was over. But Roach remained emotional about the matter and wouldn’t let the incident pass. “We’re ready. Don’t miss it," he said. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV