Our friend Luke Thomas of Bloody Elbow and MMA Nation got to this before I saw it, so first of all a tip of the cap to Luke. Now let's jump into this one.
If you don't have time to watch the video, the key quote is Roach calling Margarito an attempted murderer. This is sure to stir up at least some talk, so let's look at this.
First of all, Roach has never quite been able to make up his mind publicly on how he really feels about the Margarito scandal. This video says that he's open to Margarito's redemptive tale, but that, you know, he's an attempted murderer, and shouldn't make jokes about his crime, as he did on "24/7." I have not watched "24/7," I admit, but I did seek out that clip. Roach says he feels that they're all "f***ing assholes" for trying to make light of a serious offense. I can't say as though I'm too far from that. At the very least, it was just a lame attempt to be funny and make you think, "Oh, maybe that Margarito's not so bad. He has a sense of humor!" You know, like this was Mike Tyson dancing with Wayne Brady or something.
To be perfectly honest, I hate the marketing of this fight from head to toe. Roach is doing his usual masterful job of convincing people that he's the straightest of all shooters, but he does as much con work to sell a fight as anyone. I'm not knocking Freddie Roach when I say that, either. I admire the way he attracts so much media attention, which keeps cameras out of Pacquiao's face at least a little bit, allowing the fighter to focus while the trainer makes the brash and bold statements. Before the fight that truly propelled him into phenom status, Pacquiao didn't call Oscar de la Hoya an old, shot fighter with trigger issues. Roach did it for him. Pacquiao doesn't promise knockouts. Roach promises knockouts for him. Pacquiao doesn't call Margarito an attempted murderer or a "f***ing asshole." Roach does it for him.
It's Freddie being Freddie, and it's part of selling the fight. Can Pacquiao give Margarito his comeuppance, and so on. I've been put off by the marketing of this fight at every turn, and really there are only two reasons I'm as interested as I am: Manny Pacquiao and the fact that I love watching boxing. We've seen some aggravating promotions over the years, but this one's up there for my tastes. If you bought into everything that has been pumped into the media, you'd be looking at a fight between an out of shape superstar and a guy who's probably best known for having loaded wraps, which they coyly want you to forget while at every single opportunity reminding you that it happened.
It is what it is. Do with it what you please. Buy or don't. Attack or defend. Whatever.