This was from my friend and colleague Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports regarding the ongoing conflict between Nonito Donaire, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions: Iole’s Article
Regardless of who ends up where, this has gotten ugly and I just wonder, is the relationship between Bob Arum and the Donaires irreparably damaged to a point where they can never again work together on a professional level (If there?s enough money involved, of course, they will grin and bear each other)? Even more importantly, by dragging the iconic Manny Pacquiao- and even his wife, Jinkee- in with their comments, can the Donaires ever recover the support of the Philippines and their people?
In Texas, you don?t slander Tom Landry. In Graceland, you don?t speak ill of Elvis Presley and in Brooklyn, nothing but respect better be paid to Biggie. In the Philippines, the ?Pac-Man,? no matter what, at any cost, had better not be dragged through the mud in any way, shape or form – whether it?s valid or not.
It?s this relationship with your countrymen that is much more vital to any Filipino fighter than anything else. You can squabble with Arum all you want; you can deal with that but being a pariah in your own land, well, that?s much tougher to overcome..
