By Ronnie Nathanielsz

International promoter Murad Muhammad has secured a preliminary injunction against Manny Pacquiao which would prevent Pacquiao from fighting for any other promoter until the injunction is lifted or Pacquiao wins the $33 million case he filed against Murad.

Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York granted the preliminary injunction and set June 20 for the start of the jury trial which Pacquiao and his lawyers interpreted as a “big victory” for the Pacquiao team.

However, Murad and his lawyer Julian Friedman from the prestigious law firm of Stillman and Friedman declined to interpret the judge’s decision as a victory for either side although the Pacquiao camp claimed in a story by Winchell Campos that the judge granted Murad Muhammad’s claim for an injunction “as a consolation.” However, a legal definition of a  preliminary injunction states that it is granted “if the party who moves for it demonstrates a probability of success on merits and a possibility of irreparable injury or serious questions going to the merits and the balance of hardships tipping  sharply in his favor.” Nowhere is a preliminary injunction  regarded as a “consolation.”  

Murad Muhammad,in an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today   said “a preliminary injunction is difficult to obtain” and stressed that “we all want a speedy trial.”  Murad regretted that the court case “hurt Manny’s career” pointing out that even now the fight dates of HBO Sports for September and October “are being sold and they won’t book Pacquiao which is a major loss for
him.”

Murad indicated he “will not gloat over this” and feels “genuinely concerned for Manny no matter what” because it was Pacquiao “who was shouldering all the legal fees running into hundreds of thousands of dollars while his management team which pushed him into this didn’t spend a dime. They are just spending Pacquiao’s money.”

It was also pointed out that Shelly Finkel’s management team didn’t do anything to land the fight against Erik Morales last March 19 but took twenty five percent of Pacquiao’s purse of  $1.75 million and failed to pay business manager Rod Nazario his ten percent despite a commitment by Finkel to pay Nazario. Murad claimed “they are taking shots at me using Pacquiao’s money.”