By Lem Satterfield
Undefeated lightweight contender Brandon Rios is taking full responsibility for his role in a video where he and stablemate Antonio Margarito appear to be mocking the physical ailments of trainer Freddie Roach, which are caused by his battle with Parkinson's disease.
In the video, where the two fighters appear with their trainer, Robert Garcia, Margarito moans, "Oh, Freddie Roach," before extending his arms out slightly in front of him, shaking his hands and tilting his head slightly to the left. Rios also appears to be acting as if he is having difficulty speaking, as if stuttering and also contorts his face.
"I want to get one thing off of my chest to everybody out there. You know, the video we did, me and my stablemate, it wasn't to anybody out there with any type of illness or nothing like that. It was between camps and camps. They were making fun of our camps, so things got heated up at the moment," said Rios.
"But we came out with a video that should have never been up. It was a bad thing to happen, and I take full responsibility for what I did. I'm being a man about it. I'm just sorry, and if Freddie Roach is out there watching or listening, I'm sorry and it had nothing to do with your illness or nothing like that. I'm sorry, and I guess that we can move forward from now."
As stated in a previous article on BoxingScene.com, Roach has accepted the apologies from Garcia, Margarito and Rios. Roach and Garcia spoke on the phone and settled any personal differences which stemmed from the controversial video.
Roach's star fighter, Manny Pacquiao, faces Margarito on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
