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Location: Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines

Simply Complicated

Monday, March 26, 2007

DEFENDING MANNY PACQUIAO’S “VERY” UNPOPULAR MOVES

24 March, 2007 by Reylan Loberternos


PACMAN TAKES A TERRIBLE BEATING!

Tagbilaran City, RP – Two-time world champion (three if you count his KO of Barrera) Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, arguably boxing’s hottest commodity, has been subjected to numerous denigrations as of late. These criticisms, sometimes reasonable, but at times utterly inapt, literally flood the message boards at the popular www.MannyPacquiao.ph, where a huge number of Pacquiao supporters and boxing buffs congregate. A vast majority (over 90 %) of Pacquiao’s fans are upset with the decisions he has made lately. Let’s take a closer look at the probable reasons for his choices, and hopefully provide a diverse perspective to fairly understand why he took such options.

WAS MANNY WISE OR JUST TOO NICE?

Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) was the popular choice of promoters among Pacquiao fans. Many were elated when news broke that Pacman had already inked a deal with the Oscar De La Hoya–owned outfit upon his arrival in Las Vegas for his bout to decide the trilogy with former rival Erik “El Terrible” Morales last year. People were salivating at the thought of Pacquiao finally getting megabuck rematches with Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, not to mention a possible scuffle with undefeated WBO 130 lb king Joan Guzman. All three legendary ring combatants, as we all know, are under the umbrella of GBP. Pacquiao, for sure, also had these same thoughts, apart from the lucrative signing bonus, when he put his mark on the dotted lines.

FIRST OF A SERIES OF COSTLY ERRORS

Everything went fine, except for the fact that Pacquiao and GBP didn’t wait ‘til the trilogy with Morales was over and done with. It may be recalled that Top Rank boss Bob Arum argued along with the provision, which was stipulated in the contract forged for the Pacquiao-Morales bout, that the deal was of tortuous interference to his firm’s standing contract with Pacquiao. According to that provision, Pacquiao is prohibited from signing any future ring accords before the 3rd Morales fight takes place, thus, putting the Filipino firebomb liable for breach of contract.

TOP RANK RIGHT CHOICE FOR PACMAN?

This, among other things, probably was the primary reason why Pacquiao jumped off the GBP bus and rejoined the Top Rank train. Bob Arum, a lawyer with decades of experience in the boxing business, seemingly has the edge over his relatively neophyte rival when it comes to legal matters such as this one involving Pacquiao. The numerous clouts that he has developed and built over the years are more than enough reason for the Filipino pug to have second thoughts about not honoring that particular provision of the treaty. Factor in the $1 million signing bonus (twice as much what GBP had to offer) plus the assurance that Top Rank will take care of all the legal and monetary responsibilities in case GBP wins the case they’ll file in court, in my mind (and I may stand alone on this one) Pacquiao basically had no other logical choice but to put his fate and his future in Arum’s influential hands.

CAN PAC STILL FIGHT MAB, JMM OR GUZMAN?

By opting to junk GBP, does it necessarily mean that Pacquiao can kiss blockbuster encounters with Barrera, Marquez, and Guzman goodbye? Maybe, but nothing is set in stone. Regardless of the fact that there’s bad blood between these two feuding promotional companies Top Rank and Golden Boy, one cannot fully digress that this is “just” business. As long as the fans continue to crave these matches, the forecast revenue would certainly be too much and too hard for both parties to ignore.

WHAT ABOUT PURSE BIDS FOR SUPER CLASHES?

If things get out of control, with Arum and De La Hoya still not coming to terms, WBC president Jose Sulaiman can put matters in his own hands. Pacquiao earned the mandatory challenger status to Barrera’s erstwhile super featherweight belt, now held by Marquez, with his demolition of Morales in a title eliminator. If the WBC still installs Pacquiao as the mandatory challenger, Sulaiman can call for a purse bid. This, however, would be disadvantageous to Pacquiao money-wise because Marquez, being the champion, will have the lion’s share of the pie.

POLITICAL PLAN DIVIDES PACFANS!

As Pedro Fernandez, the undisputed king of the airwaves, earlier reported, a majority of Pacquiao’s fans (again 90+ %) decry his political plans. If his previous blunders were somewhat conceivable to many, this one in particular doesn’t go unnoticed. Pacquiao got booed, called names, and lambasted by his very own fans a fortnight ago before going to train in Los Angeles. .

WHY…OH, WHY?

Allow me now to dissect what’s probably going through Pacquiao’s mind. First, we have to provide a little background about the Philippines’ current political situation, specifically in Manny’s home district where he’s running for a congressional seat. The incumbent representative is a rich, well educated, and capable young lady named Darlene Custodio. Why is Pacquiao trying to unseat her? Is it due to being power drunk, as Pedro stated earlier, or does he really think he can help? Read on.

SCHOOL SMART VERSUS STREET SMART!

Darlene comes from a brood of politicians. She wasn’t born, raised, and educated in South Cotabato. She is a two-term congresswoman who doesn’t live in the district where she was elected, and I surmise doesn’t really represent the sentiments of the people who voted for her. Her educational background isn’t that impressive either. Albeit I mentioned earlier that she was well educated, that was in direct comparison to Pacquiao, who recently just passed the high school equivalency exam. In principle, she’s just an average college graduate, even though she has a master’s degree in cooking.

EL PRESIDENTE WANTS DARLENE OUT!

Notwithstanding all these things I’ve mentioned, Darlene is also with the opposition, which makes Manny the flag-bearer of the administration ticket. Provinces, districts, and cities whose elected officials are with the opposition rarely get the fiscal support and the nod for proposed projects from the national government. Pacquiao probably thinks that if he’s the one in congress instead of Darlene, his beloved district will get a considerable chunk of the pork barrel for its development.

PACMAN SLATED TO BE A PUPPET CONGRESSMAN?

But how does he go about making laws? This is where Franklin Gacal, Pacquiao’s legal adviser, comes into the picture. Gacal, a relative (uncle?) of Pacquiao’s wife Jinky, will perhaps perform the job on Pacquiao’s behalf.

NOW YOU BE THE JUDGE!

Let me go on record that I personally detest Pacquiao’s political plans. As a boxing fan, I certainly would love to watch more of his exciting exploits inside the squared circle. However, it is neither in Pacquiao’s adoring fans’ hands nor in those who choose to downplay his motives to decide, but in the voting hands of his districtmates, who shall determine what the future holds for boxing’s most exciting fighter! Vote wisely!

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