The decision of Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao to sign a two-year management contract with Shelly Finkel may spark a legal battle in the midst of the Filipino southpaw?s preparations for the fight of his life against the redoubtable Mexican Erik ?El Terrible? Morales.
Taking this into consideration, Pacquiao?s former manager Marty Elorde said yesterday he was ?planning to take the necessary legal action? to protect his rights ?but only after the fight, because we don?t want to disturb Manny?s focus.?
Elorde said his lawyer Hector Rodriguez is currently in the US, but he said his contention was ?the Morales fight contract was signed during the legal period I was manager.?
He added ?the entry of Shelly Finkel has made it complicated,? even as he expressed the opinion that fight promoter Murad Muhammad might sue Finkel ?if he tries to get a share of the pie? from the $1.75 million purse of Pacquiao for the March 19 showdown at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
Elorde said it was clear that the interest of others in Pacquiao was ?because of the money,? even as he believed that Finkel looked at the managerial contract ?as an investment.?
Manila Standard learned that lawyer Keith Davidson had sent Muhammad a letter ?requesting for copies of all agreements? for the March 19 bout ?within 72 hours.?
Davidson along with another lawyer Nicholas Khan form the new Team Pacquiao put together by Finkel, who reportedly gave Pacquiao a $300,000 bonus. He is also reported to have gotten an apartment for him some five minutes drive from the Wild Card Gym and provided Pacquiao with a car.
Respected boxing writer James Blears informed Manila Standard that he had learned from trainer Freddie Roach that Finkel was ?no longer in the Tyson loop at all.?
At the same time, Finkel was described as ?astute but cold-hearted and very devious.?
It was also recommended that Pacquiao get a Filipino lawyer ?to read the fine print of the contract? he signed, although this might already be too late.
