By Jason Kim: Freddie Roach sounds conflicted when discussing Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent Antonio Margarito. Although Roach believes that fighters deserve a second chance, he feels that sometimes they don’t deserve a second chance. In an interview by Gareth Davies at the Telegraph.co.uk, Roach comments on Margarito, saying “I guess he [Margarito] did his time. I guess everyone deserves a second chance but they can’t get away with that against us. It won’t happen in this fight, I can tell you. The Commission gave him a one-year suspension but deep down, you know I’m the kind of person who thinks that if you do something like that, you should be suspended for life…I thought the sentence was light.”
If Roach truly believes that Margarito should have suffered a lifetime suspension, then it begs the question: Why is Roach having Pacquiao fight Margarito then? if Roach has any kind of persuasion with Pacquiao, why not tell him not to take the fight? If that didn’t work, why doesn’t Roach just walk out and refuse to have anything to do with the fight if Pacquiao is going to be fighting Margarito. I think a move like that by Roach might have a big effect on persuading Pacquiao not to take the fight with Margarito. of course, it could also get the opposite reaction with Pacquiao finding another trainer and leaving Roach out in the cold.
But if Roach really felt as strongly about this as he sounds judging by his comments, it would be a very powerful statement if he did walk away from this fight. Margarito’s hand wraps were discovered to have an illegal substance in them before his fight with Shane Mosley last year. Margarito quickly lost his boxing license after the fight with Mosley when the California Athletic Commission suspended Margarito for one year. However, the suspension is still ongoing because Margarito hasn’t been able to get licensed in his attempt’s at getting it back with the Nevada Athletic Commission and the California Athletic Commission.
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