MANILA, Philippines?It wasn?t a smear campaign after all.
The exclusive Philippine Daily Inquirer report, labeled by some as a hatchet job to destroy the financial reputation of Solar Sports, turned out to be true Wednesday after Manny Pacquiao, in the United States training for his next big bout, announced he had signed up with ABS-CBN to telecast his upcoming fights.
The world?s pound-for-pound king made the announcement over ABS-CBN?s TV Patrol Wednesday night, putting an end to several days of speculation that he was ditching old partner Solar Sports for ?a giant network? starting with his May 2 bout with Ricky Hatton.
?Nilapitan ko po ang ABS-CBN at nagpasiyang gusto ko sila ulit maging partner (I approached ABS-CBN because I wanted to be their partner again),? Pacquiao said from Los Angeles. ?Asahan nyo po na patuloy akong magbibigay ng karangalan sa ating bayan (I assure you I will continue to bring honor to our country).?
Pacquiao?s statement also refuted a report from Solar?s spin doctors that the Inquirer story was a ?smear campaign? fabricated by ?hatchet men working for ?special interests?? who are out to destroy the network?s integrity.
It also confirmed the Inquirer exclusive that it was Pacquiao who personally sought a deal with ABS-CBN, though reasons for his split with Solar remained a mystery at this time.
?We are very happy with the decision of Manny Pacquiao to be his partner in future fights including the Hatton fight on May 2,? said Bong Osorio, ABS-CBN head of corporate communications, in a statement Wednesday.
Under the deal with ABS-CBN, the next fights of Pacquiao will be aired over the network and not on GMA-7, which telecast the recent fights of the Filipino ring icon.
Details of the deal, however, remained a secret, though the Inquirer learned from a source?the same one who initially leaked the story to this paper?that the package could amount to something between P120 million and P180 million per fight.
Pacquiao had maintained in several interviews that after Hatton, he plans to retire after one more fight.
Unconfirmed reports said Pacquiao?s move was aimed at helping him in the coming congressional elections next year. In 2006, Pacquiao ran, and lost, for the lone congressional seat in his native General Santos City.
Pacquiao had openly said that he would seek the same spot in Saranggani province, an area where ABS-CBN is dominant.
The status of two Pacquiao shows at GMA-7 now has become uncertain.
The owners of Solar Sports and ABS-CBN met recently where the idea of buying out Pacquiao?s contract from Solar was first broached. The meeting ended in a stalemate after Solar asked to be a block-timer.
The Inquirer learned that Pacquiao had already signed with ABS-CBN as early as Saturday afternoon but asked the network to hold the announcement pending the resolution of several items.
Solar had strongly denied in recent reports that it was about to lose Pacquiao, saying that the cable network had ?an iron clad deal? with the fighter that would run until 2012.
Solar vice president for business operations Ralph Roy had also criticized two Inquirer exclusives, saying that the paper painted ?a bad picture (of the financial state) of the company.?
In a late-breaking development, Solar Sports reiterated that it still had a legal right to air Pacquiao?s fight.
Solar Sports counsel Enrique Dela Cruz Jr. admitted that they received a letter from Pacquiao terminating the deal but added that they believe the contract is still ?valid and binding.?
?Manny Pacquiao and ABS-CBN can?t violate that contract,? De La Cruz told a GMA-7 news program.
