THE GLOVE ISSUE WAS NOT A MINOR ONE!
According to the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales fight contract, Team Morales wanted both fighters to use the ?Winning? brand gloves manufactured in Asia. It was more to Morales? benefit that he uses them because they protected his hand from injury. The last time Erik used ?Reyes? gloves, the gloves Team Pacquiao wanted sans his Promoter Murad Muhammad, was against Jesus Chavez — a fight where he dropped Chavez twice, but hurt his hands at the same time.
MURAD INKED THE CONTRACT WITHOUT READING IT!
The Nevada Athletic Commission, based on Marco Antonio Barrera?s objection towards ?Winning? gloves, changed the rule and allowed fighter to wear different brands of gloves in a fight. However, since it was stipulated and written into the contract that both fighters wear ?Winning,? Pacquiao had no choice in the matter.
MURAD, NOT THE SHARPEST OF PENCILS!
Manny claims he had no idea about the clause in the contract, meaning Murad didn?t feel it was important to inform the fighter of the gloves he would do battle with. Personally, I thought the gloves did not matter, but after talking to many experts, ?Winning? gloves are like pillow gloves. Trainer of Pacquiao Freddie Roach made this point to a new level when he said Manny would?ve stopped Erik if they wore the ?Reyes? gloves made in Mexico.
IT?LL BE ?WINNING? GLOVES AGAIN IN REMATCH!
This was the only chance Manny had to use the ?Reyes? gloves free and clear because of the new rules and that this was a non-title bout. However, if Erik Morales, now the #1 contender and is slated to meet the winner of Barrera-Fana, (Barrera) in the summer and faces Manny Pacquiao in a fall rematch, Manny would have to use ?Winning? gloves once again (Murad) because Morales will be the champion.
MURAD CALLED ?THIEF? BY PEDRO & FEDERAL JUDGE TOO!
To call this a huge mistake on the part of Mr. Muhammad and M & M Sports would certainly be an understatement. According to Pedro Fernandez, this is just another example of how intellectually overmatched Murad Muhammad is anytime he plays with the bigger boys in the promotional world. Remember, it was Pedro who ripped through Muhammad a few years ago when he was of the opinion Murad was shorting Manny at the pay window. And this was after a Federal Judge did all but call him a ?slime ball? in a case involving Razor Ruddock.
THAT GIANT CUT HAS CREATED SOME ADVANTAGES!
It will take over six months for Manny?s deep ?L-Shaped? cut to heal fully before Pacquiao gets back to work in the gym. And in the mind of this Pinoy, he is going to need those 180 days just to access his career and where he will go next.
FREDDIE ROACH VS. MURAD MUHAMMAD!
One of the key choices Manny must make is choosing whom to side with? There?s a river of division between Freddie Roach and his Murad Muhammad. Throughout fight week, Freddie and Murad were at a war of words over the glove issue, as well as the overall handling of Manny?s career. Trainer Roach claims Murad is there for the money period, and doesn?t care about Pacquiao. Murad claims Roach can?t wrap hands well and that he took a chance on Pacquiao before anyone else would. Keeping it real, a lot of people in the boxing business, especially Pedro, they feel Murad is full of s*it.
MURAD NOT BEST CHOICE FIRST TIME AROUND!
Now that we have realized that Manny Pacquiao is human and can be beaten, new steps must be made for Pacquiao to stay in the upper echelon of professional boxing. It was obvious during fight week, that everyone loved Manny but not Murad. During the pre-fight conference, Murad Muhammad was yelled at and asked to get off the stage by some of the Media. After the fight, Top Rank boss, Bob Arum, announced he would hand over the microphone to Muhammad and the Media yelled again. Nobody wants to hear filibusters from the man who is dumber than he looks!
HBO SEES THE BURNED OUT LIGHT BULB TOO?
Besides Pacquiao fights, HBO hasn?t given Murad any dates to promote any fights. If you look at Manny?s fights in the United States, you?d notice that Murad has never gotten Manny Pacquiao his own show. For example, during Manny?s fight in San Francisco, where there are many Filipinos, against Agapito Sanchez, he got no air-time during the pre-fight press conference and was only a footnote on the fight poster.
MURAD SAYS HBO ?NEVER WANTED MANNY?
He claims HBO doesn?t have enough dates for Pacquiao, but something closer to reality is that HBO realizes Murad is limited. During the telecast of the Pacquiao-Morales fight, they would only mention Murad Muhammad as the ?Promoter? and not by name. Larry Merchant also mentioned the glove issue on air and pointed out Muhammad?s error.
TEAM PACQUIAO WENT LOOKING AND CHOSE MURAD
When Manny Pacquiao came to the United States, it was true as Murad Muhammad states that no promoter wanted to sign him. However, when Pacquiao?s Lawyer/Agent Sydney Hall arranged Pacquiao to be IBF 122 champ Lehlo Ledwaba?s mandatory on the undercard of the epic Oscar De La Hoya-Javier Castillejo fight, Team Pacquiao felt they needed a Promoter to back him for this fight. Enter Murad Muhammad, who was working with Castillejo, and was picked by Attorney Hall to represent Pacquiao. Although the original deal was suppose to short term, Team Pacquiao extended Muhammad?s contract, which resulted to Murad currently promoting Pacquiao.
MURAD REALLY BECAME PACQUIAO?S NEW AGENT
As previously stated, Pacquiao never had his own show on HBO. Murad says he had to sell Pacquiao to others in order to get Manny on HBO undercards, having been the curtain raiser for fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Fernando Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya, and Mike Tyson. After Pacquiao?s huge win over Barrera, even a simple man could realize that Pacquiao had more leverage when it came to negotiations for future big fights. However, once again Pacquiao was the outside fighter fighting in a Top Rank show against Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao is a bigger star in boxing then Marquez, and yet in the promotion he was second to Marquez because it was a Top Rank show.
NEVER BEEN TOP DOG IN ANY BIG PROMOTION!
Then came his fight with Morales, where Manny was moving up to 130, fighting in Vegas, and had to where Morales? gloves when he didn?t have to. Why? Because it was a Top Rank show and Pacquiao was the outsider fighting Bob Arum?s most cherished prizefighter. A ?Promoter? is supposed to protect the fighter not use him in high risk gambles on other guy?s shows. But Murad Muhammad certainly wasn?t acting like Manny?s Promoter, was he?
MANNY EARNED MORE MONEY THAN ANY OTHER FILIPINO
The case for Murad is simply Pacquiao made more money than any other Filipino combined. That is true, but what has Murad made off the blood of Pacquiao? HBO pays a certain amount for a fight and that amount is split between the two fighters. You can bet in the future months, we will see whether Murad was a gift to Pacquiao, or Pacquiao was the lotto ticket for Murad. Stay Tuned.
