All's Well That Ends Well?

It was a different Manny Pacquiao on TV. He looked relaxed, happy and freed. You'd be looking and feeling the same way, too, if you had just won a court case via TKO, an out-of-court settlement that made the court battle moot and academic. Had the Pacman looked and felt this way in his epic fight against Erik Morales, the outcome might've been different. Grinning ear-to-ear as he came out of the courthouse, the Pacman looked so relaxed and finally freed from all the hassles and problems of his off-the-ring problems which I thought was his real tormentor in that Morales fight.

But has Pacquiao truly settled all his problems away from the ring? The good news is that his estranged manager Murad Muhammad will be paying him an undisclosed amount aside from the lawyers' fees. More importantly, Pacquiao has also been released from any form of control from Muhammad. It's 'freedom' in the same way a slave is released from his master, with a huge bonus to go with it.

The Murad Muhammad case, however, is only one piece of the puzzle that must be solved. Although Pacquiao's problems are legally done, there will still be one more item left unfinished. And it doesn't look like it'll be settled in a filing of any court case or out-of-court settlement. But for Pacquiao's sake, it's a matter that must be settled so he can move on with his career without any traces of the cobwebs of his past. If he doesn't settle this, he won't be able to climb the ring with a clear and focused mind, and win those bigger battles up ahead.

Rod Nazario. You love him and you hate him. You love and thank him for steering Pacquiao's career from rags to riches. But you might hate him if he was really part of the Murad Muhammad show. Mang Rod played a key role in Pacquiao's career, from his "Blow by Blow" days to winning the Philippine flyweight championship, grabbing the OPBF flyweight title and all the way to winning the WBC flyweight championship. Nazario was also responsible for resurrecting Pacquiao's career after the Pacman could no longer make the 112-pound limit and lost his title in an ugly way by knockout. Nazario re-launched Pacquiao's career at the heavier super bantamweight division where Manny won the WBC International title and the IBF world championship.

The irony of it all is that while the IBF title became Pacquiao's first step to the limelight of big time boxing, it has also turned out to become the beginning of the end of the Nazario-Pacquiao partnership, with the loss to Morales as a reflection of the sad ending. With Muhammad turning out to be the kontra bida to this drama, people are now asking what role Nazario played. Or did he have a role in all this? Is he now kontra bida # 2? It is now being divulged that Nazario may have conspired with Muhammad in denying Pacquiao the rightful money that the Pacman should've received from all his fights in the U.S.

For the record, Pacquiao didn't file any case against Nazario. Pacquiao had said in the TV interview that he's doing this out of "utang na loob." That may be a big "Whew" on Nazario's part, but it won't automatically take away doubts about his involvement since he was a partner of Muhammad in all of Pacquiao's U.S. fights. On the media front through TV and the local sports pages, Pacquiao's lawyers have already beaten Nazario to the punch, claiming that Nazario was essentially part of all deals that Muhammad authored. The out-of-court settlement of the Pacquiao-Muhammad case doesn't help Nazario's cause as it's a virtual admission that the Muhammad-Nazario partnership was indeed doing something wrong.

Nazario now finds himself in "Hello Garci" position, albeit on a smaller scale. The finding is out of the bag and the evidence presented is all legal and public. No wiretaps here. Like GMA, Nazario is probably having sleepless nights even if there is no threat of a court case being made against him. If he comes out in the open, he'll have to refute all the evidence that was presented in the U.S. against Muhammad. But Muhammad's settling the case before it could go to the jury is already perceived as an admission of a fault, or maybe a simple lapse of judgment? And if Nazario chooses to remain quiet, all the talk and news about Pacquiao's successful legal battle will pile up the points in the court of public opinion.

In the end, I really hope that Pacquiao and Nazario will settle everything smoothly. As the saying goes, "matagal ang pinagsamahan." Both have benefited from each other through all these years, and that's something that can't be denied. But both sides will also need to be professional, honest and sincere in all their dealings especially now that the stakes (and money) are really high.

Pacquiao's exclusion of his former business manager in the Muhammad court case is a good first step. The key now is for both sides take that next step to clear all the cobwebs left hanging.

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Time-out: To all ASMS alumni, don't forget the grand reunion on July 17 at the ASMC campus. Join the ASMS Alumni Association Inc. celebrate the 40th anniversary of our alma mater.

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