Saturday, November 25, 2006 Maxey: Manny Pacquiao By Ram Maxey Bar None
PEOPLE'S champion Manny "Pacman" Paquiao was given a rip-roaring welcome fit for a king in Manila yesterday by his adoring countrymen. Prominent among his well-wishers were Manila mayor Lito Atienza and son, Ali, whom the last-termer mayor is reportedly fielding in the mayoralty elections next year. Get the drift?
For a time, there was talk that Atienza has been planning to make Manny run for Manila vice mayor. Another scuttlebutt was about the possibility of Manny running for public office in his hometown of General Santos City upon the prodding of some local politicians. There are people who want to make capital out of the country's new hero who might just fall for such blandishments.
This mild-mannered former bakery helper has reached dizzying heights in the realm of professional boxing and become a multi-millionaire to boot. In this age of information technology, millions of people around the world have heard or seen his exploits in the ring. Sadly, a lot of people are now trying to exploit his immense popularity for the advancement of their own agenda.
Simple and unsophisticated as he is, it's no wonder that Manny Pacquiao has found himself in the vortex of controversy where two American boxing promoters are eyeing lawsuits against each other for the right to make millions of dollars out of his boxing prowess.
Popular boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya, who owns the Golden Boy Promotions, was able to entice Manny into signing a contract for seven megabuck-fights plus a $500-thousand signing bonus. This at a time when Manny was under a four-year contract with another big promoter, Bob Arum.
When the latter reacted to the development and threatened to sue, the simple lad from suddenly GenSan City found himself in a fix. It's a good thing Arum is not about to pin the blame on Manny and is confident that the law is on his side.
That's just one example of how some people are out to get rich by using Manny's popularity. That goes for all these politicians who are now trying to woo Manny into helping them woo his millions of fans to their side in the 2007 elections.
Perhaps it's time that Manny should distance himself from these vultures. He certainly does not need them, even as they need him to gain their ends. If Manny wakes up in time to realize the potential harm that such dubious relationships will bring to him and his growing family and stays clear of them, he will lose nothing.
The alternative is too grim to contemplate. The history of prizefighting is replete with sad endings. For such a nice guy like Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, we pray that history does not repeat itself.
