MANNY, MAYBE IT'S TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 10 Dec 2013
Manny Pacquiao's name has been in the news lately, both for good and bad reasons. The boxing icon slash cultural figure of the Philippines has been the staple of media outlets in the country and overseas, with news that span from sports, economics, political and most recently even immigration.
First the good publicity, which was the result of his triumphant win against Brandon Rios in Macao, China last month. Pacquiao's victory showed that he can still compete at the highest level after his twin defeats in 2012.
The other good news, his trip to Leyte following Haiyan. His presence and generosity brought smiles and aid to his suffering countrymen in the region after suffering devastation from the storm.
Now the bad, first was the dismal figures of his pay per view fight with Rios. HBO released that PPV buys for his Macao rendezvous is his lowest in recent years, around 500 thousand. His losing fight against Juan Manuel Marquez was estimated at around 1.4 million PPV buys, this barely half of that. The location of the fight is a major factor attributed to its poor performance in the money rich pay per view market.
And while we are in the subject of economics, Pacquiao in recent weeks has been embroiled in a tax battle with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and now anonymous reports are surfacing that the United States' Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will in due time go after the boxing champ for unpaid taxes.
This makes me wonder, why is this happening to him? Who is at fault? What are his hordes of so-called advisers doing lately? Why was this not addressed right away by them who were supposed to guide him?
Pacquiao has long been surrounded by people that are as shady as the characters in a James Bond movie. Most of them, has been suspected of milking his generosity and naiveness - not just once, twice or thrice, even plenty of times.
It boggles the mind that one of the world's highest earning sportsman, cannot afford to surround himself with professional, accountable and honest advisers in all fronts of his endeavors- boxing, politics, economics et al.
All of Pacquiao's recent problems are preventable, if only there were dedicated and genuine and again - professional people around him who will give him the real score, outlined his options and participate in professional discussions on matters that involve his career and finances.
He cannot leave his future and the future of his family in the hands of those that have continually erred against him. His fortunes were borne of blood, sweat and tears - to not personally look after it is a grave mistake that will hurt him in the end.
If the BIR and the IRS are proven to be right, then something was amiss.
If Pacquiao is to be believed that he has filed the proper tax returns, then who did the filing for him? Was the mistake intentional or not? Why was not he made aware right away if there was a mistake so it can be addressed or was he left in the dark because it was something done behind his back?
And in case he knew about it and allowed it, why was he not given the right advice by his inner circles? Cheating in your taxes is a grave offense, especially in the United States, where even the most powerful people can not do anything once the arm of the IRS is against them.
But maybe all of this is telling Pacquiao something.
Maybe it's time for Pacquiao to look at the people around him and decide whether their services and their presence is still warranted after this.
Maybe it's time to let go of the people that has time and again broken his trust and those that only look at him as a dollar sign, as a milking cow.
Maybe it's time that he reflects on their performances, on their attitudes, on their characters and then do himself and his family a big favor by keeping only those whom he truly trust and those that has done him and his family good.
Maybe he needs to rid himself of the parasites that takes advantage of his kindness and of the leeches that suck his generosity and trust.
Maybe it's time for a new Team Pacquiao, one that is made up of true, liable and knowledgeable professionals who will conduct themselves in an efficient manner.
Manny Pacquiao, Sir, Maybe it's time to do some cleaning within your team.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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