Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao has rocked the boat in the midst of training for his crucial March 19 showdown with Erik ?El Terrible? Morales by signing a managerial contract with controversial boxing figure Shelly Finkel.
Finkel is reportedly facing several legal cases in the US, including his involvement in a litigation between Francisco Bojado and one of the fighter?s former co-managers who alleged that Finkel received at least $1.725 million from Showtime. That was allegedly in violation of a fiduciary duty that Finkel assumed when he became Bojado?s co-manager.
It was also reported that the ?primary beneficiary? of the careers of top-class fighters Bojado, Rocky Juarez, Jeff Lacy and Juan Diaz ?appears to have been Finkel? who was described as ?a survivor in the jungle that is professional boxing,? according to boxing writer Thomas Hauser.
Viva Sports/Manila Standard learned that the contract signed by Pacquiao was already filed by Finkel with the California State Athletic Commission. Finkel also rented an apartment, which is some five minutes drive from the Wild Card Gym of trainer Freddie Roach, for Pacquiao.
Roach himself reportedly acted as adviser of Pacquiao and helped broker the deal with Finkel who loaned Pacquiao a car for his use after he got a driver?s license.
Finkel called Pacquiao?s business manager Rod Nazario and asked for a copy of the HBO pay-per-view contract with Morales but Nazario informed him he didn?t have a copy since it was signed at a press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel and he was not there.
Nazario said Finkel told him ?I am taking the place of Marty Elorde and we will be working together.?
When Nazario told Finkel, it appeared ?inimical to sign a contract at this stage when Pacquiao?s focus should be solely on the Morales fight,? Finkel replied that Pacquiao knew what he was signing ?because everything was explained to him? by the California State Athletic Commission officials.
Finkel told Nazario: ?I?m looking forward to a harmonious management.?
After failing to secure a copy of the contract from Nazario, Finkel had Pacquiao send a letter to international promoter Murad Muhammad informing him that Team Pacquiao was now composed of Finkel, Nicholas Khan and Kenneth Davidson. Finkel further said that any request they make is to be considered ?as though it was made directly by me,? to the consternation of the established Team Pacquiao that has served him through the years.
A check with the Vagabond Inn front desk indicated that Pacquiao and Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez had already checked out.
Roach?s assistant Justin Fortun was tasked by Finkel and Roach to keep an eye on Pacquiao while Fernandez? role was reduced to a mere ?helper,? according to Roberto ?Boying? Nazario, the US-based son of Nazario.
He said he had spoken to Pacquiao by telephone twice yesterday and was informed by the flamboyant southpaw that he wanted ?to get rid of Marty Elorde,? whose contract as manager expired on Feb. 1.
Elorde himself expressed shock over Pacquiao?s actions and said ?he didn?t have to get rid of me because my contract has already expired.? Viva Sports/Manila Standard was informed that Pacquiao signed for some $300,000 and that Finkel had promised to get the Filipino sports hero a green card and subsequently American citizenship.
Pacquiao?s wife Jinkee, who is in Los Angeles with son Emmanuel Jr., declined to comment on the development.
She is scheduled to return to Manila on Feb. 12 on a roundtrip business class ticket provided by Muhammad and Nazario.
Both Muhammad and Nazario were calm about the developments which took them by surprise. Pacquiao called Nazario two days ago but mentioned nothing. Close Pacquiao supporters felt the timing was terrible since these distractions were taking place at a time Pacquiao should be totally concentrated on the fight against Morales, who is the toughest opponent in his career so far.
Muhammad told Manila Standard in an overseas telephone conversation: ?We will deal with this situation later. We want Manny focused on the fight. We will promote the fight well because it is big, especially for Manny.?
Muhammad said Pacquiao was ?training hard and never trained like this before. He is battering his sparring partners and is running hard every morning.? His advice was ?forget about this. Go on with the Morales fight. Don?t worry about anything.?
When informed about a green card for Pacquiao and US citizenship reportedly promised by Finkel, Boying Nazario asked Pacquiao, ?you want to turn your back on the Philippines?? which was the same question posed by Muhammad who said 80 million Filipinos have supported Pacquiao all the way and now he is thinking of being an American.
Muhammad said he couldn?t understand why Pacquiao, who stood to keep most of the money that would have gone to his manager, decided to sign with Finkel and ?share his millions with a stranger.? The major negative effect of the Finkel contract is that he deals with Showtime, regarded as the competitor of HBO Sports although not in the same level.
Finkel, who handles Mike Tyson, was said to have refused to lend Tyson any money along with Showtime when he was in need. An article on the Internet said Finkel?s detractors say that ?he?s hypocritical and shameless? and that he is known to ?tell you 90 percent of the truth but not the last 10 percent which is what you need to know.? His critics have also accused Finkel of using ?carefully phrased truths that leave to misimpression.?
