By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao will soon have to wake up from two days of lavish partying to make some hard decisions on which road to take in his boxing career even as a legal battle for the right to promote his fights rages between Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank.
The head of Pacquiao’s management team, the astute Shelly Finkel and celebrated trainer Freddie Roach whom the fighter trusts implicitly, arrived in General Santos on Saturday looking to sit down and talk to Pacquiao about his present situation.
Roach who actually had Pacquiao sign a seven-fight deal with De La Hoya has made no bones about the fact that he would want him to honor that contract.
Finkel whose management contract ends on January 31 has said he could get Pacquiao out of the fix he finds himself in, if given a chance which would also probably mean an extension of his management contract.
But whatever his contractual ramifications, Pacquiao and his millions of fans are focusing on having a star-studded birthday bash following the christening of his only daughter Mary Divine Grace and the blessing of his mansion reportedly worth some P38 million.
Boxing men Moy Lainez whose relations with Pacquiao go back to the time Rod Nazario steered Pacquiao’s career to two world titles and a small fortune was in GenSan as guest of Pacquiao along with Gerry Garcia who said the crowd was “overflowing” at the christening held at Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage church and later at the upscale Rosewood restaurant.
Garcia said a number of politicians were in attendance and that Finkel and Roach were given a place of prominence next to the table of Pacquiao. The top honchos of Solar Sports led by William and Wilson Tsieng and Peter Chanliong who hosted a party for Pacquiao at the Ranchero Grill on Saturday night were also there. Garcia said Pacquiao was “looking good” and obviously not thinking about any contractual problems.
Roach has made his preferences clear. He said he wants Pacquiao to fight WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera in a rematch and then settle the score with Juan Manuel Marquez who held him to a controversial draw after being dropped three times in the first round.
But right now Pacquiao’s mind is on a celebration which will be capped by a P6 million musical extravaganza staged in the city’s air-conditioned stadium and featuring the big name stars of ABS-CBN
