The hits just keep on coming for Manny Pacquiao, and their not even coming from Timothy Bradley’s fists.
The current WBO welterweight champion is currently gearing up for what’s shaping up to be a tough fight against the undefeated Bradley and yet, the off-court distractions just keep on piling up. Shortly after news broke about Pacquiao’s alleged tax evasion issues, the Filipino boxer is once again in hot water amid claims that his foundation failed to pay the necessary shipping charges on a consignment of goods that was seized by the Philippine customs.According to TMZ, the boxing champ’s Manny Pacquaio Foundation tried, back in 2009, to import a shipment of “relief goods” from the US using an unnamed logistics company. When Philippine customs officials discovered that the goods did not qualify as “relief goods” under Philippine law and therefore was subjected to excise duties, they decided to put the clamps on the shipment and had it impounded. As it stands, the foundation has neglected to pay any outstanding bills with the shipping company and is now being sued to pay the full amount of $35,806.36, plus interest.
This latest allegation is the newest in a series of controversies that has plagued Pacquiao in recent months. In addition to this, the boxer-congressman has come under fire for his poor attendance record in Congress, his involvement in housing a fugitive former politician, and his alleged tax evasion issues.
Quite the laundry list of improprieties, no?
Despite all the pellets being thrown his way, Pacquiao remains fully committed in training for his June 9 fight against Timothy Bradley. And, quite frankly, he needs to stay focused on his upcoming fight because Timothy Bradley is far from a stiff. The 28-year old American is not only younger and fresher than Pacquiao, but he also sports a tidy 28-0-0-1 record – the only blemish was a no-contest decision against Nate Campbell – and has proven himself to be a formidable opponent in the ring that can grind out fights and overwhelm you with non-stop aggression.
For his part, Pacquiao has been hard at work training for the fight, determined to squash all the criticism he took after what many people thought was a lackluster showing against the bane of his existence, Juan Manuel Marquez, last November. Some quarters even had Marquez winning the fight, which given his heavy underdog status leading up to it, should serve as a wake-up call for PacMan to not half-ass his way to training for the Bradley fight.
Manny Pacquiao is considered one of the best fighters of his generation. And while we expect him to rebound from his performance against Marquez when he steps in the ring on June 9, we certainly also hope that he gets all this off-the-ring controversies settled before it completely torpedos his career, his stature, and most importantly – at least for him – his future political ambitions in the Philippines.
