General Admission
With Pacquiao back, let’s get him a new lawyer
By Al S. Mendoza
SUDDENLY, we have a new Manny Pacquiao.
Boxing is like that. It can produce a hero overnight. It can also recycle.
Don’t get me wrong.
Pacquiao is already our hero of all-time.
In fact, even if he has not come back after that horrific 6th-round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8, 2012, he would still stay in the books as the world’s only eight-time world division champion. No mean feat.
He easily defeated Brandon Rios on Nov. 24 in Macau. Good.
That means he is back.
That means he is in business again.
That means he can resume his winning ways again, which can mean more cash in the bank.
But let me tell you this. Even if he lost to Rios, it would not have hurt his image.
He’d still be Manny Pacquiao, the fighter who destroyed such legends like Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.
Oh, yes, had Rios succeeded in upsetting Pacquiao, it would have meant the end of the road for Pacquiao.
No more fights.
No more popularity.
No more big bucks to fight for.
But listen up, fellers.
Against Rios, Pacquiao was assured of victory: 99.99 percent.
Rios, even if he was taller by two inches and heavier by almost 10 pounds on fight night, was tailor-fit for Pacquiao.
He was an open target all the way, reduced to a virtual punching bag for 12 rounds.
Let me tell you this.
With two straight defeats marring his career, Pacquiao cannot afford to risk losing a third fight.
The 2012 losses to Timothy Bradley and Marquez were enough to put Pacquiao’s career precariously on the line.
A third defeat should never ever happen or it’d be goodbye to Pacmania.
Or, to Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, it’d be goodbye to a gold mine.
Since 2006, when Arum had successfully grabbed Pacquiao from the $1-million grip of De La Hoya, Pacquiao and Arum have tangoed quite successfully—and lucratively as well.
While Arum has already earned millions from the partnership, Pacquiao has become a billionaire.
In 2008-2009 alone, Pacquiao has earned so much that it was from those years that the Bureau of Internal Revenue is basing allegedly unpaid taxes of P2.2 billion by Pacman.
What about the years from 2010 to the present?
In Macau alone, it was reported that Pacquiao was assured of no less than $18 million.
It only means one thing: He can still pack them in. That was proven in his fight with Rios, the former world lightweight champion with a 3-1-1, win-loss-draw record before he fought Pacquiao.
Now that he’s more than back, Pacquiao, 34 turning 35 on Dec. 17, must get a tax lawyer to fix his bank account.
Otherwise, he might end up with an empty bag even before it isn’t time for him to hang up his gloves.
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