A couple of weeks ago, a story was released in a Philippine newspaper stating that a source close to fired promoter Murad Muhammad was planning to file an injunction which would prevent Manny Pacquiao from fighting in the United States. This source, who calls himself “Proboxer,” sent an email to many websites, assuring us that Manny would not fight anytime soon. This “representative” of Muhammad claimed that Murad has lots of money and is ready to use it, prolonging the case for five to ten years if need be. The serious claims made by “Murad’s Buddy” scared every Pacquiao fan that read about it!
COWARD HIDES BEHIND A SCREEN NAME If Murad’s friend was so reliable and was only speaking the truth, why not choose to release his name. The person who called himself ProBoxer even attacked Pedro Fernandez, who dismissed these “threats,” in emails. He called Pedro a “Big Loud Mouth Toothless Guy” and a “Petrus” (if you know the meaning of this word, you know where I am going with this). Early on, Fernandez was of the opinion that Murad Muhammad himself may have been the author because he left no name.
THE BEAUTY OF THE INTERNET The source sent his email under an America Online (AOL) email address. Interested in learning more about this source, I decided to contact him via AOL Instant Messenger. To my surprise, he answered my instant message, asking me what my name was. After learning who I was, he agreed to have a conversation with me, further explaining his claims. When I asked him what his name was, he told me “This is Winchell Campos.”
MANNY’S PERSONAL WRITER, MURAD’S SOURCE? Shocked in learning who he was, I asked him if he was just trying to fool me? “Want me to fax you my California ID?” Could this possibly be the same Campos who’s supported Pacquiao for years? You see, I met Campos before the Erik Morales fight and had dinner with him after the Bernard Hopkins fight last February, along with Manny, so you can understand my being amazed. Before I continued, he wrote “that Funkel guy (Shelly Finkel), he just turn over to the landlord the condo without giving us enough time to look for a place to stay, I was left in the cold without any place to go.” When asked about the time we met, this man quickly signed off.
THE BRICKS FALL Instantly after signing off, another screen name logged in at the “Campos” wanted to make sure I was not online. Already doubting the credibility of this man, I realized that the screen name that would log in moments after ProBoxer logged off, was the screen name of Filipino Pex Aves.
THE FOOLED BECOMES THE FOOLER To confirm my suspicion, I emailed Campos at an address I received from mannypacquiao.ph, in order to really know the truth. Later that night, I received a phone call from Campos, who was obviously concerned. He explained to me that a similar situation, where someone pretending to be him was bad-mouthing Ben Delgado, current trainer of Vernie Torres, who Aves wants to promote. When I voiced my beliefs that the man pretending to be him was Pex Aves, everything came to light. Campos and Aves had some choice words for each other during the Pacquiao fight, when Aves yelled at me, calling me a “hanger-on,” only there for the money. Campos took issue with the cooments and the two have not talked since.
60 YEAR OLD PLAYING KID GAMES It’s pretty clear that Aves wants to be on Manny’s good side, or he would not have hidden his name and lied to me, pretending to be Winchell. Not only did he give Pedro migraines, but he made a respected writer believe he was a Muhammad representative. In reality, this guy is a failed promoter, who wants to be the next Rod “Boss” Nazario. He wants to kick Ben Delgado off of Torres’ team, so he can take full control of Torres’ career.
THERE’S A REASON WHY HE HID HIS NAME To make serious accusations that could affect how a man makes a living, you have to be credible so people will take you seriously. A week before the Pacquiao-Erik Morales fight, Aves attempted to stage a show involving two Filipinos, Torres and Gerry Baligbagan.
CALIFORNIA CATCHES AVES ACTING…AS AN ATTORNEY! Almost having me tricked into believing that he was Winchell Campos, Aves is a master of acting. According to the December 2002 Watchdog, a periodic newsletter from the Offices of the United States Trustee-Region 16 (Southern California), Judge Russell found that Pex Aves, who claimed to be a lawyer, “engaged in unauthorized practice of Law.” Attorney Sydney Hall explained that when a person is charged with that, he is either a fake lawyer, or a suspended lawyer still is practicing. After being unable to find Aves on The State Bar of California website, I believe he’s a fake! Possibly a lawyer in the Philippines, it is illegal for an unlicensed person to practice law in California. The courts found that Aves broke many rules in section 110, which includeed failing to sign bankruptcy papers, stating he’s an attorney in advertisements, collecting fees from clients, etc. He was fined $2,000 U.S. and was forced to return the $3,000 he collected from clients. And this folks is Murad’s buddy, and the man who made us fear Manny would never fight again in the United States?
LESSONS LEARNED It was not enough for him to make comments without giving his name, but he had to lie to me, pretending to be Winchell and making disgusting lies about Winchell, Finkel, and Manny. He made harsh claims about Pacquiao, which are not worth mentioning. He tried to express his views, bring down a fellow writer, harass Pedro, and tried to fool me, but instead he gets exposed as a fraud in every aspect of the word. When informed about the truth, Winchell stated that Manny now knows whom to trust. And Pex Aves is certainly not a man to be taken seriously or trusted.
