Now that Pacquiao has established himself as an international marquee attraction, he can expect more and more carpetbaggers to knock on his door, looking for a chance to get a piece of the action.
When Pacquiaos venerable trainer Freddie Roach came out strongly in a boxing website to denounce the uncrowned world featherweight champions US promoter Murad Muhammad, I wasnt surprised. Roach claimed hes been shortchanged in Pacquiaos fights.
"If we could get an accountant ... to look at all of Mannys fights with Murad, youll find a lot of money missing," said Roach, quoted by Greg Leon in the boxingtalk.net website. Roach reportedly called Murad a thief in a separate interview.
Pacquiaos business manager Rod Nazario said there was never a problem in dealing with Roach until after the Marco Antonio Barrera fight when lawyers Keith Davidson and Nicholas Khan surfaced to tender an incredible $25 to 30 Million, six-fight, two-year deal.
Nazario said the lawyers apparently convinced Roach to ride the wave of Pacquiaos ascension.He added that Roach and Pacquiao were blinded by the zeroes in the dollar offer.
One of the lawyers, Davidson, even flew to Manila in an effort to wrap up the talks, in effect kicking Murad out of the Pacquiao loop. Anticipating a lawsuit from Murad, Nazario told Davidson to cover legal expenses in the event of counterstrike as a result of the hostile takeover.
As it turned out, none of Nazarios conditions were noted in the contract draft sent by Davidson and Khan. The glaring stipulation was Khan and Roach would co-manage Pacquiao for 20 percent of the gross. Obviously, there was a communications breakdown.
Nazario, however, isnt about to pull the plug on Roach whos widely known as the architect of Pacquiaos transformation into a top-class fighter. His son Roberto has talked to Roach and tried to calm him down. Now, the word from Los Angeles is Roach is willing to talk things out with Murad and Nazario. And no, hes not quitting as trainerat least, not yet.
Then there was an offer from a concert promoter Louie Pearlman, labeled as a "scam artist" by the New York State Consumer Protection Board recently. Pearlman has never staged a boxing event but conjured visions of a dream extravaganza featuring Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde in the undercard. The plan was to fly in Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to work the corners of their daughtersnever mind if the Loquacious One can hardly walk straight because of his Parkinsons syndrome.
Lawyer Rudy Salud was approached by a Pearlman representative to act as the broker for a Pacquiao-Barrera rematch. Salud agreed to help in the negotiations for strictly nationalistic reasons. He thought such a show could boost the countrys sagging international image and buoy up the spirits of the Filipino people eager to witness Pacquiao in action on home soil. But when Pearlmans group kept on postponing the delivery of the earnest money, it became clear something was amiss. Salud eventually broke off negotiations.
Promoters arent the only blood-suckers out to prey on Pacquiao. Politicians are making a beeline to convince Pacquiao to endorse their candidacies for the May elections. Movie producers are also dangling juicy contracts to exploit Pacquiaos popularity.
For a 25-year-old fighter, the frenzy could be overwhelming. Hes being tugged at from all directions, swamped by blinding offers from honorable and not-so-honorable people.
Nazario said Pacquiao cleared at least P14 Million in the Barrera fight. Thats a lot of moolah for a farmers son who couldnt afford a plane ticket and rode a slow boat to find his fortune in Manila in 1995. Hes due to earn his first $1 Million paydaya first for a Filipino prizefighter.
Pacquiao cant afford to throw away his money on a lavish lifestyle, foolish gambling sprees, and hangers-on. Hes got to know how to preserve what he painstakingly earned in the ring. The worst that could happen is when Pacquiao finally retires, his bank account wont amount to much.
Of course, Pacquiaos entitled to some luxury spending. He bought himself a red Ford Expedition from his Barrera purse. But Pacquiao isnt about to kiss his money goodbye on cars and soft assets. Hes too smart for that. The word is hes invested his money wiselyon real estate, primarily.
Someone whispered that Pacquiao has already been swindled out of a tidy sum. If Roach is to be believed, Murad tops the list of the con artists. An insider said Pacquiao has been bilked of a huge amount by a pyramid schemer and a relative once linked to the movie business.
There will be more conscienceless swindlers trying to sweet-talk Pacquiao into investing his money into some purportedly high-yielding venture. Money is the root of all evils and poor Manny is the prime target of lechers who cant keep away from the smell of success. Manny is in for more tough fightsin and out of the ring.