‘Money’ Pacquiao’s woes

It’s all about money, Manny "The Pacman" Pacquiao alleges on Joanna Rose Bacosa’s disclosure that the people’s champ sired her two-year-old son. In a radio interview, Pacquiao admitted that he had a "one-night stand" with the woman, and gave her P300,000 for her delivery expenses. But she’s only out to bilk money to the tune of P15 million, the boxing champ said. He had reportedly been giving her generous amounts like P15,000 and P50,000 despite doubts that the child was his. Bacosa complained the last amount she got was P3,000, and her lawyer said Pacman’s wife Jinkee had offered P100,000 to silence his client. As this controversy hounds the country’s boxing idol, Spybiz came across an interesting item written by journalist-lawyer Thomas Hauser of Seconds Out. Titled "Manny Pacquiao: Where the Money is Going," Hauser relates that a Jan.19 letter submitted by Nick Khan, one of Pacquiao’s co-managers to the Nevada Athletic Commission stated that the fighter was guaranteed a minimum purse of $2 million for the Morales rematch. After the deductions, however, Pacquiao was left holding a purse of $313,446. So where’d the rest of the money go? It seems a big chunk went to management, Hauser discloses. Pacquiao has three co-managers: Shelly Finkel, Nick Khan and Keith Davidson. Aside from their usual percentages from the bout, these gentlemen would be getting separate cuts for future income that would be derived out of the rematch. Here’s the breakdown: Finkel gets 12 percent of the gross or $240,000, but deferred $40,000 as a loan to Manny. Nick Khan is entitled to 4.64 percent or $92,800, but deferred $11,600 as a loan to Pacquiao. Davidson’s share is $67,200, but deferred $8,400 of the amount also in the form of a loan to Manny. The same with trainer Freddie Roach who gets 10 percent but defers $40,000 in the form of a loan to the boxing champ. Other deductions included $376,666 as payment to the IRS for present and back taxes; a $200,000 advance from Top Rank; $80,350 to Top Rank for fight tickets requested by Pacquiao himself; $75,000 to a Pinoy assistant trainer, $50,000 to a translator and aide; $4,708 to Finkel for Jinkee and a friend’s airplane tickets; $2,000 to the WBC as a sanctioning fee; and the $25,000 withheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission pending the result of the post-fight drug test. On top of all these, $372,839 reportedly went to Gary Shaw Productions for promotional efforts and various services, including making sure that ‘Pacman’ was billeted in a luxurious two-bedroom suite. Examining the numbers, Hauser stated that most knowledgeable observers agree that "Pacquiao made less than he should have with Murad at the helm." Kibitzers who read Hauser’s account remarked that Bacosa may be way off the mark if indeed she’s asking P15 million from Idol Manny.

Boxed in by onerous bank charge

For several years, this reader has had an account and a safety deposit box at a branch of this bank that will soon be taken over by a much bigger player in the industry. Last December while he was in the bank to pay an advance on his safety deposit box, he was told that this was not possible because the bigger bank will be taking over in 2006 and so the boxes will only be for selected customers. In order for him to keep his box, though, he would need to deposit P200,000 or $4,000. This is unfair to many depositors who will lose their accounts or safety deposit boxes just because they lack the funds to meet this stiff financial requirement, the reader said. Perhaps the BSP should take a look at this matter.

Spy tidbiz: Sex does it

A professor of psychology from the University of Paisley in Scotland disclosed that the best way to beat stage fright is to have sexual intercourse beforehand. In a two-week study conducted on 22 men and 24 women, volunteers kept a journal to record their sexual activity and then underwent a stress test involving public speaking and math exercises. The study revealed that those who had "penetrative" heterosexual intercourse showed the least stress and had their blood pressure returned to normal faster than those who engaged in other sexual activities. Those who abstained from any sexual activity were found to have the highest blood pressure response to stress. Professor Brody said that a most likely explanation could be the stimulation of a lot of nerves during heterosexual intercourse, particularly the vagal nerve that helps in the control of certain psychological processes. The release of oxytocin, also called the "pair bonding" hormone during sex could have added to the calming effect, Brody said. A dissenting opinion however was aired by Dr. Peter Bull, a social and political psychologist at the University of New York. Short of calling the findings a lot of "bull," Bull said there were other ways to prepare for a speech that were more likely to lessen stress, and that includes preparing by thinking about the speech and what one has to say, rather than engaging in sex the night before.

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