NEWARK ? M&M Sports president Murad Muhammad rolled out a red-carpet welcome for uncrowned world featherweight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and business manager Rod Nazario as they landed here from San Francisco on a Continental Airlines flight early Sunday evening.
Muhammad and three companions rode in two cars to escort Pacquiao and Nazario to the Marriott Airport hotel where they were billeted in a plush suite. Room 954 was furnished with a dinner table for eight, a two-sofa living set, a huge bedroom, a walk-in closet and a bathroom. It connected to Room 956, which had two beds and a bathroom. The bills went to Muhammad?s account.
My sister Irene, who lives in Berkeley Heights in this New Jersey city, took me to the Marriott at about 9:30 p.m. Muhammad and his party had already left after eating dinner in the suite. I carried an overnight bag to spend the night in the hotel so we could head out to the HBO (Home Box Office) office in New York all together the next morning.
