Filipino ring icon Manny ?The Destroyer? Pacquiao is seeking $33 million (P1.85 billion) in damages in the case he lodged against American promoter Murad Muhammad and the New Jersey-based M & M Sports. Fightnews.com reported that Pacquiao also demanded for the termination of Muhammad?s existing contract with him.
The other day, Pacquiao, though his American lawyers Judd Burstein and Keith Davidson, filed a suit in federal court in New York against Murad and his business managers for allegedly withholding the Filipino?s earnings from his US fights.
Pacquiao, who was in Cebu two nights ago to witness Randy Suico pound Thai Muangfahlek Kiatwichean in the fourth round in the latter?s OPBF super featherweight title defense at the Lapu-Lapu City Sports Complex, wants to recover the huge sum of purse money ?stolen? from him by Murad in his US fights.
Pacquiao alleged the promoters transferred more than 30 percent of his purses to a shell company on the basis his American taxes would be paid from there. But the taxes were never paid, the lawsuit said, leaving Pacquiao with huge bills for back taxes, penalties and interest.
The suit also alleged that Muhammad failed to disclose where all of the money he was making on a Pacquiao fight was coming from – a violation of the Muhammad Ali Professional Boxing Reform Act.
?Muhammad had facilitated a scheme that permitted Pacquiao?s business managers to retain as much as 50 percent or more of Pacquiao?s earnings. Pacquiao?s business management had a vested interest in not risking the exposure of their scheme by antagonizing Muhammad through hard negotiations for the highest possible purses,? the suit stated.
Lately, Pacquiao openly accused Murad of swindling him some $3 million in pay-per-view sales he is supposed to earn from his fight against Mexican star Erik Morales last March 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao insisted he should have been entitled to a share in the pay-per-view revenues from the Morales bout. Pacquiao earned $1.75 million in the fight, which drew 350,000 PPV buys amounting to $16 million.
In previous interviews, Murad, who signed up Pacquiao in June 2001, vehemently denied cheating Pacquiao and claimed he is responsible for building Pacquiao into a star.
