Pacquiao’s Tax Issues Lead to Bigger Questions

[WESS]

^ I'm pretty sure Manny has contractual obligations.. He can't just "leave Bob Arum"

He could try to negotiate a better deal, but good luck with that. Arum is slime

If he can prove TR was not taking care of him or was in his best interest he could break ties with Bob. He just needs to prove it, you know hire someone like Vision Quest to investigate his finances.

[The Gambler1981]

you right Gambler... He has to thin out that horde of people he calls friends.. and streamline his budget. I heard he has a private army over there too.

As for getting from Arum, I'm not sure how much hope there is of that.

Still, no matter how bad it gets, I don't think Manny will ever be back out on the street. He's too notable a celebrity in the PI and abroad. He can always sc**** some cash together off of that celebrity status.

Manny can still get Arum to jump because Arum loves that revenue and the carrott that Manny brings Top Rank, he has a lot of leverage. I don't know how far he can get Arum to go but he can certainly do better, the harder Manny plays ball the better he can do.

Still the most important thing is to get his house in order outside of Arum/Top Rank because he can still make a bunch of money with Top Rank.

It is like Tyson, Mike isn't really broke and he will always be able to make money but he should not even have to triffle with such things.

[CarlosG815]

Manny can still get Arum to jump because Arum loves that revenue and the carrott that Manny brings Top Rank, he has a lot of leverage. I don't know how far he can get Arum to go but he can certainly do better, the harder Manny plays ball the better he can do.

Still the most important thing is to get his house in order outside of Arum/Top Rank because he can still make a bunch of money with Top Rank.

It is like Tyson, Mike isn't really broke and he will always be able to make money but he should not even have to triffle with such things.

I think the situation with Tyson is a bit different. Aside from Ali he is the most iconic boxer of all time, and the most well known the world around (with Ali).

Not many fighters reach that level of status and I think it's safe to say that Manny has not attained that level of fame and success and when his career is over he will be remembered by boxing fans and casual fans, he will not be in that same boat.

I'm thinking more along the lines of Duran.

Manny has surrounded himself with corruption and the filth of the boxing industry so while he is suffering now, everything he has gained is because of who he surrounded himself with.

Hard to feel sorry for the guy when you look at the people he has trampled on to get there with catch weights and bogus contract stipulations.

Live shady, die shady.

[ShoulderRoll]

Arum and Koncz didn't want VisionQwest getting too nosy, so they made Pac end that relationship.

But for his own good Manny should hire someone high profile, like Ernst & Young, to handle his finances. Bob won't be able to bully them like he did VisionQwest.

[PAC-BOY]

If he can prove TR was not taking care of him or was in his best interest he could break ties with Bob. He just needs to prove it, you know hire someone like Vision Quest to investigate his finances.

funny how Arum got all bent outta wack when they wanted to search files....Something isnt right there!

[The Gambler1981]

I think the situation with Tyson is a bit different. Aside from Ali he is the most iconic boxer of all time, and the most well known the world around (with Ali).

Not many fighters reach that level of status and I think it's safe to say that Manny has not attained that level of fame and success and when his career is over he will be remembered by boxing fans and casual fans, he will not be in that same boat.

I'm thinking more along the lines of Duran.

Manny has surrounded himself with corruption and the filth of the boxing industry so while he is suffering now, everything he has gained is because of who he surrounded himself with.

Hard to feel sorry for the guy when you look at the people he has trampled on to get there with catch weights and bogus contract stipulations.

Live shady, die shady.

True talking American guys and in America, but I think Manny can make a pretty good living in the Philipines.

Either way the ending isn't what it should be for a guy that made so much.

I just don't like to see this sort of thing happen to any fighter, I have seen enough shitty boxing stories even if a guy deserves his fate.


Manny can still fix it, like the old saying goes "a fool and his money are soon parted" the signs are all there the actions just need to be taken, if they aren't you can only feel so bad because something should have been done if not it is all a mess of his own making.

Still sucks to see fighters get taken advantage of though.

[Syf]

If he can prove TR was not taking care of him or was in his best interest he could break ties with Bob. He just needs to prove it, you know hire someone like Vision Quest to investigate his finances.

The sad thing is Manny may have just signed a grossly unfair contract. No amount of research and investigation would free him, because he would be getting exactly what he (unwittingly) signed the dotted line for. Now if its proven that Arum broke contract, then now we're talking turkey.

Manny can still get Arum to jump because Arum loves that revenue and the carrott that Manny brings Top Rank, he has a lot of leverage. I don't know how far he can get Arum to go but he can certainly do better, the harder Manny plays ball the better he can do.

Still the most important thing is to get his house in order outside of Arum/Top Rank because he can still make a bunch of money with Top Rank.

It is like Tyson, Mike isn't really broke and he will always be able to make money but he should not even have to triffle with such things.

Manny needs someone to negotiate on his behalf that could match Arum word for word in lawyerspeak. I get the impression that Manny conducts negotiation with Top Rank face to face via interpreter or through Koncz. The former is a ridiculous way to do business and the latter is flawed as well because Koncz is either out for himself or in bed with Arum, take your pick.

I agree Manny should not have to peddle his celebrity to get by, I just don't know if he has the intuitiveness and wisdom to prevent that eventual outcome.

[The Gambler1981]

Arum and Koncz didn't want VisionQwest getting too nosy, so they made Pac end that relationship.

But for his own good Manny should hire someone high profile, like Ernst & Young, to handle his finances. Bob won't be able to bully them like he did VisionQwest.

I thought he should have hired Ernst and Young when he hired VisionQwest.

[horge]

First off, there are no criminal charges... yet.

Pac's has been cited for contempt of the Bureau of Internal Revenue,
which had twice scheduled an appointment with him (or his legal
rep) to clarify questionable portions of his statement of assets,
liabilities and net worth, as well as his last two ITR's. The BIR was
twice snubbed.

Second, yes, it's true that VisionQwest was fired because of Arum's
pressure. Per VQ's recommendation, Pacquiao had fired Mike Koncz as
financial adviser, but wanted to give Koncz a house as consolation.
At the time, however, Pacquiao had severe liquidity issues (again
dovetailing with VQ's findings), and actually had to BORROW money
from VQ just to afford Koncz's severance gift.

When Arum found out about the extent of VQ's aggressive inroads wrt
managing Pacquiao's wealth, the hammer came down. VQ was fired,
and Koncz was reinstated.

To view it dispassionately:
VQ was muscling into the lucrative business of managing Pac's wealth,
and there's no certainty it wouldn't have cheated Pac once VQ was in.
Irregularities in Pac's finances, tax records and reportorial requirements
are the only givens in this sad story. Arguably, VQ would have fixed
the paper mess, and spared Pac from trouble with Internal Revenue.

Given Pac's penchant for going back on his sworn promise, it's no
surprise he broke faith with VQ, after some smooth-talking (and/or
duress) from "Blob" Arum.

Wrt the internal revenue wrinkle, non-Filipinos be advised:
The BIR is hopelessly corrupt, and has a record of nitpicking errors
wealthy taxpayers' documentation to squeeze a payoff out of them.
If so, the failure to settle the matter quietly is astonishing and proof
of the current legal/financial advising team's incompetence.

[The Gambler1981]

Manny needs someone to negotiate on his behalf that could match Arum word for word in lawyerspeak. I get the impression that Manny conducts negotiation with Top Rank face to face via interpreter or through Koncz. The former is a ridiculous way to do business and the latter is flawed as well because Koncz is either out for himself or in bed with Arum, take your pick.

I agree Manny should not have to peddle his celebrity to get by, I just don't know if he has the intuitiveness and wisdom to prevent that eventual outcome.

The problem with Manny is he thinks he is a hustler and knows what is what. Never try to hustle a hustler who is better than you and Arum is way out of his league.

No one he could turn to that he trusts has any business dealing with Arum and getting someone new seems to be an issue.

Really he should just move the the US, he would end up having to pay a ton more in taxes but he could seperate from the leaches and find someone (a good lawyer not connected to Top Rank) to aid him, it would also force Arum to be more honest about his income because the IRS is not something to play around with. He would have to give up his political dreams but he could always go back to that or stay involved through backing others so he can cash in those chips later.

His options are all hard though, if he wants to get out of the spiral he is in.