The Federal Bureau of Investigation?s raid on the headquarters of Top Rank Inc. in Las Vegas and the hospitalization of Manny Pacquiao?s business manager Rod Nazario because of a stone in his kidney has forced a postponement of their planned departure for New York on Jan. 15.
Nazario told Manila Standard that he had spoken to his son Roberto in San Francisco earlier and was told that nothing was moving because of the uncertainty over the FBI raid and the report by the Las Vegas Review Journal that Top Rank president Bob Arum had gone into seclusion and declined to answer questions about the raid.
Arum reportedly huddled with his lawyers for several hours after returning from a vacation in South Africa after which Top Rank issued a statement stating it had ?done nothing wrong? and that Arum ?seems as perplexed as anyone by what?s going on, but he knows he has nothing to hide.?
Arum and Top Rank, who handle Paulie Ayala and World Boxing Association/IBF champion Juan Manuel Marquez were important to the planned discussions between Nazario, promoter Murad Muhammad and HBO officials over a possible fight between Pacquiao and Ayala or Marquez sometime in late May or early June.
