Former world champion Manny Pacquiao was the big winner Tuesday in a confidential settlement reached in his civil suit against promoter Murad Muhammad.
Only minutes after the case went to a federal court jury in New York, attorneys for Pacquiao and Muhammad reached agreement on a settlement that makes Pacquiao a free agent.
Pacquiao is expected to fight a tuneup bout Sept. 10 or 17 and then try for a rematch against Erik Morales later this year or early next year. Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to Morales in March at the MGM Grand in a what might prove to be Fight of the Year.
Pacquiao, 26, filed suit against Muhammad on April 28 in U.S. District Court in New York. In his suit, Pacquiao alleged Muhammad had corrupted his business manager, Rod Nazario, into creating a shell company that was used to steal money from Pacquiao.
Pacquiao said the scheme left him with a large tax liability.
In addition, Pacquiao claimed Nazario was not negotiating in good faith with Muhammad for the best possible contract for the fighter and alleged that Muhammad and Nazario were working together. During trial, Muhammad claimed that Nazario was a co-promoter of Pacquiao, but Pacquiao produced 13 signed contracts indicating Nazario was his manager.
Judge Loretta Preska issued a gag order, barring those involved in the case, including Pacquiao, Muhammad, Nazario and Pacquiao’s new co-managers, Nick Khan, Keith Davidson and Shelly Finkel, from commenting on it.
The settlement makes Pacquiao, who held flyweight and super bantamweight world titles and was recognized as the world’s best featherweight after he stopped Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003, free of all obligations to Muhammad and Nazario.
Pacquiao was estranged from Muhammad before the Morales fight, though Muhammad acted as Pacquiao’s promoter in the bout. However, the tension between the two was evident and Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, was highly critical of Muhammad. Roach said at the time, “Murad Muhammad is a magician. He makes Manny Pacquiao’s money disappear.”
