"Bob is like a fart; you smell it and then it goes away...He really is. I mean, him and his people are just like farts. They come in, they stink up the joint when they're around, and then they leave, and the smells goes with them...here's the thing when you've been in business as long as Bob, you have a lot of enemies. They're just like Bob, you know, nice to your face and try to stab you right in your back. Well that's the same thing they did. I had people internal, people that worked there and have not worked there, that were just clamoring to give me information," stated Strength & Conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who was not at all pleased to find out earlier this month that promoter Bob Arum recently tried to convince 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao to fire him. As such, Ariza did his own thorough research on Arum and discovered some interesting information, but out of respect to Freddie Roach, who made a personal plea to him, he's willing to keep the peace...for now. Check out what he had to say about the incident and much more.
BT: Alex, what's good bro? Obviously I've been keeping up with your posts on Twitter about the issues you're having with Arum. It sounds like you've been doing a lot of research over the past week or so. What's going down?
AA: Well first, I have to apologize to people because, unfortunately, I'm going to have to hold off on releasing any articles or any kind of information on Bob out of respect for Freddie. I sat down and spoke with Freddie. You know, I'm in this business because of Freddie, you know? Everything that I have; he's given me a great life, a great living, a very comvortable living, and it really is all because of Freddie. Like I said, out of respect to him, I'm going to hold off on releasing this article, but, he said, "If Bob goes ahead and continues to do what he's doing, you have my full blessing and you have a green light to do whatever you have to do." He said, "But we have some big fights coming up right now." You know, we started off the year with a good win for Julio. He said, "I don't want us to get sidetracked. I don't want people to come in and try to do that whole divide and conquer. I want us to stay strong, stay as a unit, stay as a team; focus on getting the fighters in the best shape and focus on having a strong year. We have some really big fights coming up." And he's right. I'll respect his wishes and that's what I'm going to focus on right now. Bob is like a fart; you smell it and then it goes away.
BT: (Laughing)
AA: (Laughing) He really is. I mean, him and his people are just like farts. They come in, they stink up the fucking joint when they're around, and then they leave, and the smells goes with them. Those fucking puppets. Man, I have no respect for them. The only one in that whole company who has balls and character, to me, is Dena DuBoef. I'm sorry that she's unfortunately in it. I actually still do consider her a dear and close personal friend, and somebody that I really enjoy talking to and being around, but, you know, that's how things happen.
BT: Everything is cool with all the fighters you work with though, right?
AA: Yeah. In fact, I found out this thing from Manny when he called me to wish congratulations to Julio for having a great win. He kind of laughed and jokingly goes, "Bro, what kind of trouble are you causing? Why does Bob want you out so bad?" So, you know, Michael Koncz's sleazy, stinky ass was in the house too in Houston, so you know whenever there's a rat in the house like him, it's all dirty business, because he's such a scum bag and piece of shit. Manny assured me that he will deal with Koncz himself personally about sticking his nose in my business again. They're like two little girls, him and Bob, on a school night, cuddling up next to each other in bed, plotting and scheming on what kind of bullshit they're going to come up with the next day, you know? They probably dye each other's hair that same barbeque red color; up at night dying each other's hair like, "This is what we can do. This is what we can do."
BT: (Laughing) I think the fact that Manny called you up joking about it speaks volumes about your relationship with the fighters you work with, you know?
AA: Yeah. If there's one thing about Manny, you can't persuade him when he wants something. Whether it's right or wrong, he's going to make the decision himself. If Manny wants me out, he'll just tell me, "Hey bro, this isn't working out," and I'll respect that. I have no problems with that. That's the nature of this business. And if I'm in, like he told me the other night, he'll say, "Don't worry, bro. You're with me. We're together. Don't worry about it. I'm the one who makes the decisions," and that's all I need to hear. That, plus talking to Freddie, you know. It's unfortunate. The last article that we did, that was the shit that was off the top of my head. I had been planning from that time on until this time to do this, because I knew Bob is too stupid or senile; he probably forgot that he tried to get me fired the first time. In his head, this is probably the first time he's done it. You know how dinosaurs are, dude. They forget.
BT: He did the same thing with Freddie awhile back too. When Manny was getting ready to fight Oscar, Bob made some nasty comments about him like he was trying to get him out of the picture.
AA: It's nothing new. Like Freddie said, he tried to get him out before with Manny. It's always gotta be about Bob's agenda, what Bob wants and how he wants it. If you're not one of his puppets or one of his little bitch boys, you know, then of course he wants you out and he'll move you out. Like I said, I always let my work speak for itself. I work for the fighters. As long as my fighters are happy; Freddie's happy with my work. Like I said, Bob is a dinosaur and he's about to be extinct himself, so, you know? Maybe he's forgetting the shit that he says. I really have to leave it to the fact that he's old. In old age, sometimes you forget the things you do and forget the things you say. Clearly that's what I see happening with him.
BT: Well, hopefully he doesn't forget again so you don't have to drop the hammer on...
AA: (Cutting in) I have no doubt that he will. That's why it's not hard for me to tell Freddie, "You know what? No problem. I respect your opinion and the decision, and I respect Manny as well," because I know that Bob is fucking stupid and senile, and he'll forget that he did it and what happened, and he'll go and do it again. He'll do something or he'll send one of his puppets, or the little bitch boy, and Michael [Koncz] will end up getting the shit slapped out of him again for trying to do something that Bob wants him to do. Something will happen and they'll create their own fire and then it will be on again. But like I said, a lot of that stuff was just off the top of my head the first time. This time, I planned and spoke to a lot of people. And here's the thing when you've been in business as long as Bob, you have a lot of enemies. They're just like Bob, you know, nice to your face and try to stab you right in your back. Well that's the same thing they did. I had people internal, people that worked there and have not worked there, that were just clamoring to give me information. It took us awhile because you have to do your fact checking and all that, but the next one, I can assure you, it's not going to come off the top of my head. It's well planned, and I'm not going to stop planning what I'm planning now because, like I said, he's going to try something stupid.
CLICK HERE PART 2 OF THIS INTERVIEW WITH ALEX ARIZA
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