Finally, Manny Pacquiao has decided to sue Murad Muhammad, his American promoter, who is alleged to have systematically bled the Filipino fighter of millions of dollars worth of earnings that should rightfully have gone to his pocket.
Pacquiao, through his lawyers, is asking the US District Court in southern New York to rule on five claims of relief amounting to at least $13 million and payment for punitive damages amounting to $20 million.
At this point, this paper can only say ?Don?t say we didn?t warn you.? That is because, as early as two years ago, when Pacquiao was still being primed to meet Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera, we were already alarmed by the hype being generated by Muhammad.
Not that hype is bad, especially in a sport like boxing, which has been transformed over the years to what it is now, more as a form of entertainment than a showcase of physical prowess. We submit it is hype that whips up interest, and consequently makes the money roll in.
What is bad about hype is when you know it is flat out deceptive and, worse, when the media, as vehicle for all hype, does not seem to know any better and allows itself to be used in the deception.
The Freeman almost felt like a lonely voice in the wilderness, crying for caution against Muhammad while all the sportswriters and columnists, both here and abroad but mostly here, were singing praises for Muhammad, pandering to his every spit and dribble.
So frustrated were we by the wild abandon with which the Philippine media catered to Muhammad that we wondered aloud here whether Pacquiao should still actually fight in the ring when it seemed, from all the stories printed, that Pacquiao already won.
Muhammad, in a visit to the Philippines, told everybody willing to listen, and it seemed they were legion, how he loved the Philippines blah blah blah. You come across somebody who talks to your face like that and alarm bells ought to immediately ring.
Yet, incredibly, the Philippine media lapped Muhammad up. We now wonder if this did not contribute to Muhammad?s gall and guile to do what he is now accused of doing. To be sure, with the kind of vibes he was getting, Muhammad must have thought he had everybody on his palm.
With this development, we feel so much vindicated. We feel we have been right all along in our misgivings about Muhammad, a man whose visage we once unflatteringly likened to a staple in bad guy movies.
