Paul Dogboe, the father and trainer of WBO Interim junior featherweight champion, Isaac Dogboe, has apologised to Jessie Magdaleno over some comments deemed to be discriminatory by the latter.
Paul, who will be leading his son's quest to snatch the WBO Jnr featherweight title from Magdaleno in the US on April 28, described his comments about the Mexican boxer as being misinterpreted as he was just hyping the show.
"I want to apologise to the Mexicans about throwing Magdaleno over the wall.
It was just a comical talk, nothing personal. It was just to wake the Mexicans up to come and watch their champion get beaten.
I apologise if it was misinterpreted. I was only hyping the show," Paul said.
The Ghanaian trainer was quoted by Pulse Ghana last Wednesday as saying: "We hope Magdaleno will not run like a chicken; we hope he makes the weight and comes in with no excuses because we are ready for him.”
"We are ready to eat him like a chicken. We are focused and our only mission is to devour him, eat the crazy chicken, throw him over the wall of Mexico and present the title to Donald Trump. Magdaleno will run when he sees Isaac," he continued.
However, promoters of Magdaleno, Top Rank, through their Chief Executive Officer, Bob Arum, condemned Paul's comments relating to Trump's immigration policies, especially when Magdaleno's family is of Mexican heritage, despite being born in Las Vegas where he resides.
"I condemn the intolerant rhetoric coming from Isaac Dogboe's father regarding Jessie Magdaleno and advise him to apologise," Arum said.
Magdaleno and Dogboe will meet in a mandatory 122-pound world title fight on April 28 on a Top Rank/ESPN card at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Magdaleno-Dogboe bout was moved from the initial April 14 card in Las Vegas by Top Rank after the main event fight between Jeff Horn and Terence Crawford for the WBO welterweight title was postponed because of an injury to Crawford's right hand during sparring.
Dogboe knocked out Cesar Juarez in five rounds on January 6 at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra to claim the WBO Interim Super Bantamweight belt, while Magdaleno was recovering from a wrist injury.
Meanwhile, Paul has appealed to the Minister of Youth and Sports (MOYS), Isaac Asiamah, to release the $30,000 purported to have been given out by the Presidency to support Dogboe in the upcoming fight.
He said Team Dogboe was yet to receive any such amount and that he would appreciate it if the ministry could provide them with the said amount.
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