BEFORE losing by unanimous decision to Mexican Erik Morales last Sunday, Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao was already a bigger loser — and of all people — to his US promoter Murad Muhammad.
In an interview several days before the fight, Pacquiao’s US trainer Freddie Roach had said Murad, contrary to common practice, will be receiving the pay-per-view (PPV) upside of 40 percent reserved for the General Santos City fighter.
“Before Manny signed his last contract with Murad, Bob Arum called me up and he negotiated this deal with me: It’s the exact same pay day we’re making now: a guarantee, plus 40 percent of the upside (after the break even of the PPV money). The upside was going 100 percent to Manny. But now the upside is going to Murad Muhammad,” Roach said.
Guarantee
Roach also told boxing writer Joe Rein in the same interview that the reigning Ring Magazine featherweight champion was to receive a guarantee of $1.75 million — the biggest ever purse for Pacquiao.
Now, just days after the monumental fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the figures are slowly coming out of the woodwork, and they point to Murad getting $2.8 million from Pacquiao’s PPV share and the Filipino getting nothing.
Estimates
Roach cited that based on local estimates, the Pacquiao-Morales fight should have snagged some 400,000 pay-per-view buys and at $44.95 per buy, the PPV should amount to $17.98 million.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao, who endured a deep cut over his right eye from a headbutt in the fifth round, was left with only $612,500 (P33,075,000) out of his purse after deducting the taxes and shares of the members of Pacquiao’s team.
“Murad may have made more than Manny, for what, he didn’t risk his life. That’s horrible. This guy makes Don King look like a saint,” Roach said.
Taken to task
Roach’s assertions seemed to bolster an earlier report that Pacquiao had taken Muhammad to task after it was reported that while Morales was getting 40 percent of the PPV share and Bob Arum 20 percent, it was Muhammad who took the 40 percent which was supposed to go to Pacquiao.
“Well with Murad I think he is one of those guys who don’t really care about the fighter more so than the money,” Roach said yesterday in an interview.
Roach also rued Muhammad’s seeming lack of support for his fighter, saying: “Like the trip to the hospital, myself and Shelley (Finkel) stayed for four hours, while Murad was counting his money in his suite.”
Finkel, Pacquiao’s new manager, Roach and Manny went to a hospital where doctors suggested a corrective plastic surgery to close the deep cut Pacquiao suffered in the fight.
Roach revealed for the first time, however, that they have underestimated Erik Morales a bit and that the bleeding of Pacquiao’s cut did not stop.
Rematch
“No complaints, we lost, he won and we are definitely looking at a rematch in September,” he added.
He also assured fans that should a rematch be made, Pacquiao will definitely be wearing his favorite Reyes gloves.
Roach also pointed out that “there was a lot of noise during the Manny fight and it was difficult to get Manny to listen with all the loud speaking and these guys with no knowledge about Manny screaming instructions. All these guys (were) trying to do my job.”
