Forgive and forget, says Pacquiao

Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao’s back in town and he’s definitely not filing a case against former business manager Rod Nazario.

Pacquiao’s lawyer Judd Burstein was on speaker phone calling from his New York office at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum yesterday and said he’s prepared to fly in, testify and show evidence proving Nazario was involved in a scheme that substantially reduced the fighter’s earnings from six US fights in 2001-04.

But Pacquiao, who appeared at the PSA Forum, isn’t filing charges even as he acknowledged there was collusion between New Jersey promoter Murad Muhammad and Nazario in concealing what he earned in gross amounts from those six US fights.

Pacquiao said he purposely told his lawyers to exclude Nazario from the charge sheet in the $33 Million suit that was filed against Muhammad and his promotions company M&M Sports in New York last April. The suit was eventually settled out of court.

For his part, Nazario said he did Pacquiao no wrong. He added that he’s ready to face Pacquiao or anyone else to prove all his dealings with the fighter were above board. Nazario said he has documents to prove Pacquiao’s taxes from his US fights were paid.

Curiously, a certain Cecile Glunt of the US Internal Revenue Service testified otherwise during the jury trial of Pacquiao’s case in New York.

Pacquiao evaded questions about Nazario and said he’s just happy that from now on, he no longer has to contend with either Muhammad or his former business manager in planning his future.

"Parang nakawala ako sa bilangguan," he said with a big smile on his face.

For Pacquiao, it’s forgive and forget.

"May utang na loob ako kay Mr. Nazario," said Pacquiao. "Ninong ko siya sa kasal. Marunong naman akong lumingon sa pinanggalingan. Siya ang nag-alaga sa akin noong bago pa ako sa boksing."

The past is past, continued Pacquiao, and what’s occupying his mind now is the future. He’s moving on with his life, without Muhammad and Nazario.

Pacquiao arrived alone on a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles early yesterday morning. His wife Jinkee flew in on a Northwest flight the night before.

Talking about his celebrated court case, Pacquiao said the trial took a lot out of him, maybe even more than a boxing bout. He was exhausted when it finally ended with an out-of-court settlement that he called "a win by technical knockout."

Pacquiao spent over two weeks in New York attending to the case. Before the trial began, his deposition was taken by Muhammad’s lawyer Julian Friedman on two separate days and he was constantly in Burstein’s office, reviewing documents, providing insights to substantiate legal arguments and sharing his thoughts on the case. When federal judge Loretta Preska opened trial proceedings last June 20, the grind became even more demanding.

Pacquiao said he was up at dawn to be at the courtroom by 7 in the morning, stayed in the judge’s sala until past five in the afternoon and worked in Burstein’s office up to midnight every day during the grueling trial.

Pacquiao said he’s looking forward to bigger and better things with his new management team of Shelly Finkel, Keith Davidson, Nicholas Khan and trainer Freddie Roach.

"Lahat ng negotiations sa mga susunod na laban ko, dadaan sa akin," he said. "May translator ako kaya malalaman ko kung ano ang nakalagay sa lahat ng kontrata. Ang buong premyo ay ibabayad sa akin at ako ang magbibigay ng share ng mga kasama ko. Ganoon na ngayon ang palakad."

Pacquiao said he can’t wait to fly to General Santos City to be reunited with his two sons.

"Mis na mis ko na sila," said Pacquiao. "Namili na kami ni Jinkee sa US ng pasalubong para sa mga bata. Mamimili pa nga kami sa Maynila para sa kanila bago kami umuwi."

Liberated from the promotional contract that would’ve bound him to Muhammad until August next year, Pacquiao can now sleep well at night. His mind is finally at peace.