ALEX ARIZA SUES FREDDIE ROACH FOR SLANDER|| FIGHTHYPE.COM
ALEX ARIZA SUES FREDDIE ROACH FOR SLANDER
World-class Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Ariza has filed a slander lawsuit against Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach. According to court documents, Ariza alleges that Roach made "false and defamatory statements" about him in a videotaped interview that was posted on January 9, 2014.
For those that are unaware, the video that the lawsuit is referring to is an interview that Roach gave to SecondsOut.com where he made explosive accussations about Ariza when asked for his opinion regarding the failed drug test of Brandon Rios following his unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao. "I know he has a new strength coach and I don't get along with the guy, and one of the reasons why he doesn't work for me anymore is because I think he's a little shady, you know. He used to give Manny a drink every day before we worked out and I asked him, 'What's in that drink,' and he would never tell me. And I said, 'I need to know what's in that drink because, you know, you're giving it to my fighter and if something goes wrong, I'm gonna get the blame.' In my opinion, he's a little shady, so he's with that camp now and it doesn't surprise me that happened," Roach commented in the video [below].
The court documents state that Roach was "negligent, reckless and/or willful and malicious in communicating the aforementioned falsities implicating Plaintiff [Ariza] as a cheater, condoner of using PEDs and assisting boxers in using PEDs." Ariza is seeking monetary damages as a result of the comments made by Roach.