GRAPEVINE, TEXAS--It's a rare moment when the actuely aware of his surroundings Manny Pacquiao gets hit with a question that he is totally unprepared for.
Manny told me on Tuesday he wants "to close the issue" insofar as discussing the random blood testing controversy and Floyd Mayweather but he still fields any and all questions as to the issue and his logical big fight opponent.
But Pacman was blindsided after Wednesday's press conference at Cowboys Stadium when a journalist asked him what he knew about NFL franchise and stadium owner Jerry Jones past attempt to become an investor in Pacquiao's ring career.
"I know nothing about that," Pacquiao said. "I am just the fighter."
Norm Clarke, the lively gossip and celebrity news columnist for the Las Vegas Review Journal came out with a "scoop" (see it below) about Jones and former NFL head coach Bill Parcells being approached by an intermediary for then Pacman promoter Murad Muhammad.
Clarke did not know or reveal the name of the intermediary but I easily figured it out.
The guy referred to as "a trainer and a tailor" can only be colorful lifelong boxing man and North New Jersey tailor Al Certo.
It is also plausible that the perpetually financially challenged Muhammad was seeking outside investors so he could hang on as Pacman's promoter. But he was given the gate amidst legal wrangling and Pacquiao moved on to other handlers.
I also can confirm Parcells, who took the Giants to a Super Bowl victory and later coached the Cowboys, is a huge boxing fan. I met him once and we talked about fighters.
He was a friend and fan of Certo's best boxer, former world champion turned trainer James “Buddy” McGirt.
Anyway, here's Clarke's full item as carried in the Dallas Morning News:
NFL owner passed on shot at investing in career of boxer Manny Pacquiao
Neither Jerry Jones nor Bill Parcells remembers exactly what year the former Cowboys coach presented the Cowboys owner with an opportunity to invest in the future of Manny Pacquiao. But it was in the summer. Just before training camp. In all likelihood, it was 2004, just as the Filipino fighter’s career was preparing to skyrocket. It seems Parcells knew a guy from back in New Jersey who had a contract with Pacquiao. Parcells, a boxing fan since childhood, and Murad Muhammad, a promoter from Newark, had been introduced by a mutual friend. “He was a trainer and a tailor, and we both bought our clothes from him,” Parcells recalled Tuesday afternoon. Muhammad asked Parcells for an introduction to Jones. Muhammad was looking for a little cash to help promote Pacquiao’s career. Parcells thought Pacquiao was worth the investment. And so he called Jones to set up a meeting. “We sat in Jerry’s office and talked about how good Oscar De La Hoya was doing and how Manny could follow in his footsteps,” Parcells said. “I said, ‘Jerry this guy is a good young fighter. He’s worth a shot. ’ ” But Jones wouldn’t bite. He reasoned that if Pacquiao was a good as Parcells advertised, someone who knew more about the subject than an Arkansas oil man who hit the jackpot with the Cowboys would be willing to make an investment. “I once had a very attractive proposition to get into NASCAR,” Jones recalled. “Then I looked around the people sitting at my table, and I saw that nobody had grease under their fingernails. I knew immediately that if we went into racing, we’d get our butts beat. “Same with boxing.” — Dallas Morning News
Source: examiner.com
***
No comments:
Post a Comment