In a bitter tirade, New Jersey promoter Murad Muhammad blamed trainer Freddie Roach for two-time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao?s defeat to Erik Morales in Las Vegas last March 19 and said the Filipino lost the fight “outside the ring.”
Muhammad arranged Pacquiao?s eight fights in the US since 2001 but they are now estranged. Pacquiao recently filed a suit against Muhammad, seeking $13 Million on five claims of relief and $20 Million in punitive damages, in New York.
Quoted by Claude Abrams in Boxing News, Muhammad said the reason why Pacquiao lost was he wasn?t focused and was overtrained.
“He had poor attack, poor strategy and that cost us big time,” said Muhammad. “Pacquiao came with lambs and the night of this fight, was walking with wolves. We lost this fight outside the ring.”
Muhammad laughed off Roach?s accusation that the promoter failed to negotiate the use of Pacquiao?s preferred gloves, the Reyes brand of Mexico, and instead settled for the more cushioned Winning brand of Japan.
Muhammad cited legendary trainer Gil Clancy as once saying, “Gloves don?t win fights, it?s timing and speed.” Clancy was Hall of Fame champion Emile Griffith?s trainer.
But Roach snapped back at Muhammad, insisting the choice of gloves was a factor.
“If you gave Tiger Woods a new set of golf clubs, how many shots would it cost him?” asked Roach. “We ended up using Morales? golf clubs, not ours.”
In retrospect, Roach admitted lapses in Pacquiao?s strategy. “Manny should have gone to the body more,” he said. “We took this guy a little lightly. But we?re pushing for a rematch. And if we don?t get it, we?ll go after (Marco Antonio) Barrera.”
Abrams said Muhammad, in a fightnews.com interview, lashed out at Roach for pocketing $175,000 as his share of Pacquiao?s $1.75 Million purse. He said the cut was more than what he ever got training Mike Tyson. Muhammad also said Roach?s assistant Justin Fortune, a former heavyweight who specializes in strength and conditioning, took $20,000.
“Shelly (Finkel) took 25 percent of Pacquiao?s gross,” continued Muhammad. “The lawyer took $5,000 and the cutman, who saved the fight, got only $8,000. The federal government took $535,000.”
For the record, Finkel?s share was 10 percent. Lawyers Keith Davidson and Nicholas Khan split five percent.
“The name of the game was to get Morales into the ring,” continued Muhammad. “We doubled our money. Pacquiao got $750,000 against Juan Manuel Marquez last year. He was supposed to get $900,000 for a rematch that didn?t come off. Then I got him $1.75 Million for Morales.
“Consider that in 11 years with Bob Arum, Morales had never made over $1.5 Million. So Pacquiao made unbelievable money. Marquez priced himself out of the rematch. He felt he was entitled to $1.5 Million. For the Morales fight, we had no idea the gate was going to sell out. The MGM gave us a $1.1 Million site fee and HBO guaranteed us a little over 150,000 pay per views, giving us $2.7 Million. If me and Arum made $4 Million profit, we would be very, very happy. We were hoping to break even.”
Abrams explained the situation: “When the deal was struck, the promoters had no guarantee the match would sell at the box office or on pay per view. Though Muhammad argued that this was his TV date, HBO negotiated the pay per view deal with Arum. Muhammad claimed he brought in Top Rank to make the Morales fight and shared the promotion.
“Under usual circumstances, the boxers would share 80 percent of the revenue but let?s not forget Morales was the star. He had been on pay per view 10 times previously. It is usual practice for pay per view fights in the US that the boxers get 80 percent and the promoters get the rest. But according to newspaper reports, Pacquiao didn?t see any of the pay per view revenue.”
It is his pay per view share that Pacquiao hopes to recover in suing Muhammad, alleged to have helped himself to the money estimated to be $2.8 Million. Pacquiao cited Muhammad for allegedly violating the full disclosure clause in the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act.
Muhammad isn?t only being sued by Pacquiao.
A few weeks ago, San Francisco lawyer Sydney Hall sued Muhammad, Pacquiao?s business manager Rod Nazario and his son Roberto and the company Philippine Boxing Ltd., a limited liability company, for accounting, tortuous interference, inducement to breach of contract, fraud and deceit, violation of the Boxing Reform Act and exemplary damages.
The suit was failed in the superior court of San Mateo country in Redwood City near San Francisco.
Hall was retained by Pacquiao?s management team as lawyer for seven percent of his gross earnings. He received $2,000 for the Lehlo Ledwaba fight, $7,000 for the Agapito Sanchez fight and $4,000 for the Jorge Eliecer Julio fight. Hall said Pacquiao?s actual gross purses were scaled down to pay out less to contracted individuals. He claimed he should have also gotten a share from Pacquiao?s other US fights.
Hall is seeking $180,000 for special damages and $500,000 for punitive damages.
“One of my concerns is that Manny may think he is going to get money from their law suit and he is dreaming,” said Hall. “Murad will have spent the money by the time there is any judgment and he will have to pay (lawyer) Judd (Burstein) in future fights. The sad truth is that Manny should have spoken up much earlier in guiding his finances and career. Now he has agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to strangers just to get justice.
“When Finkel was signed, he should have volunteered to give Marty Elorde half of the manager?s cut at least since he did nothing. Now that he is actually doing work, shouldn?t he get that money after he has done something? These new guys just walked in and got money, in effect, being paid in advance for their time like Burstein.”
