Finkel bares his soul

I never got the chance to talk to two-time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao’s new manager Shelly Finkel face to face.

I was in Los Angeles last February on the way home from Denver where the NBA All-Star Weekend was held and I found out Finkel was in town. But I couldn’t sneak myself in for his late morning meeting with Pacquiao’s business manager Rod Nazario in Beverly Hills.

I asked Nazario if I could interview Finkel after their meeting. The interview never happened because Finkel left for New York that afternoon.

I later met Finkel’s associate Keith Davidson at the Wild Card Gym. Davidson gave me Finkel’s telephone number in New York and said he would alert him to expect my call.

In my Vagabond Inn room, I called Finkel one morning and his secretary answered. He was on his way to the office, she said, and would return my call. After a few minutes, Finkel called back. We spoke for about 15 minutes then he had to take an important call on another line and promised to call back. Sure enough, Finkel called again. I reported on our conversation in the Feb. 27 issue of The Star.

Back in Manila, I e-mailed Finkel and listed a series of questions for him to answer before Pacquiao’s fight against Erik Morales. Finkel replied, answering the questions in short and concise sentences. His answers were reported in the March 17 issue of The Star. I e-mailed him twice more but he never replied again.

I haven’t tried calling Finkel from here because long distance phone calls are expensive.

I recently e-mailed Davidson to ask about Pacquiao’s moves in filing a suit against New Jersey promoter Murad Muhammad but never got a reply. Obviously, Pacquiao’s US management team is keeping silent on the touchy issue. No sense tipping off the "enemy" by blurting out secrets and legal strategies in media.

The other day, I got a copy of the May/June issue of Boxing Digest and was surprised to find a three-page story on Finkel. Writer Lisa Scott (it had to be a lady) said Finkel invited her to his New York office.

Lisa got Finkel to answer questions I would’ve asked him.

One interesting question was about Pacquiao.

What expectations do you have for his future?

Finkel: "I believe that Manny will become a legendary fighter. Now that the contract with his former manager has ended, Manny wants to put the past behind him. That’s why he hired me. I hope that I can make for him and save for him a lot more money. Manny’s co-managers (Nick Khan and Davidson) and I want to straighten out his life going forward."

Finkel described Pacquiao as an "exciting, great young dynamo."

Of course, Finkel was asked about his most popular and controversial client Mike Tyson.

Finkel: "He is, in many ways, an intellectual. And people don’t realize that. If you watched the Hopkins-Eastman fight, Mike was the best one on the broadcast. He was the most knowledgeable about the history of the middleweight division, the fighters who fought in that division and explained where Hopkins stands historically compared to the rest. Mike has greatness. But sometimes, he hurts himself unnecessarily. He is a perfectionist and he remembers how great he was. He knows that he has to change in order to adjust to his age and to who he is now.

"I think after two fights (left in his contract with Tyson), we will renew again. I believe that Mike and I will be together until the end of his boxing career. Hopefully, after his retirement, we can pursue other things together like the commentating."

What is his strategy in dealing with a promoter or a network?

Finkel: "The main issue is how you can get the most exposure for your fighter. My belief is this: If I’m right in knowing that I have a great fighter, then I want him exposed. If he’s exposed, then he’ll make the money. And there are different guidelines at different times. For instance, if I have a kid who is 21, I don’t need to worry that in 18 months, I need to have him ready for a title (shot). But if I handle someone in their late 20s or early 30s, then I’ve got to rush it. And when you rush things, you have more chances of making mistakes. There’s going to be mistakes anyway. Things are going to happen by accident. But if you have time and can guide someone correctly, you can plot things out."

What is the secret to his success?

Finkel: "The important thing is understanding what you’re dealing with. Understanding the sport. Without being at all egotistical, (Bob) Arum and (Don) King are promoters. I am the only one who is a manager and I understand both sides of it. There’s always a manager who’ll come around. But if you take a look at the last 10, 15 or 20 years, there is no other manager who consistently works with champions or builds champions from the ground up.

"I think I understand the sport and I care about the fighter. I always come through for the fighter and I believe that I am the best at what I do. I’m not a dictator. I never tell a fighter, ‘You must do this.’ Instead, I tell him ‘You should do this and this is why.’ Then he has the choice of either doing it or not. Also, I enjoy the negotiations and trying to put things together. I gain such satisfaction from knowing that I’m doing something good for the future of my clients. I love what I do."

That’s Finkel baring his soul.