Deception from Down Under; A Conspiracy Theorist’s Guide

Deception from Down Under; A Conspiracy Theorist’s Guide
By: Kirk Jackson

Here we go again…

Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao 59-7-2 (38 KO’s) apparently attracts controversy; this time in the form of losing another disputed decision – to relatively unknown, teacher/boxer Jeff “The Hornet” Horn 17-0-1 (11 KO’s).

To be fair, Pacquiao has his share of debatablevictories as well. How about we ask Juan Manuel Marquez about the decisions regarding three of their four fights?

This recent uproar certainly created waves within the world of sports. Reactions from fellow boxers like former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, other athletes such as Kobe Bryant, boxing analysts and experts such at ESPN’s
Teddy Atlas, the collective sentiment is shock.

What do the Boxing Gods have against Pacquiao?

Perhaps the Boxing Gods still hold Pacquiao in good favor and the outcome resulted from the return of the puppet master, ensuring his key piece lacks leverage and remains at his mercy.

The puppet master is none other than the president of Top Rank Promotions Bob Arum. Dating back a decade now, Pacquiao served as his key marionette.

The main money generator of Top Rank in wake of the departures of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao featured and excelled in Top Rank’s biggest events, generating millions in the process.

Serving as Arum’s puppet is not without perks however. Large pay purses, favorable marketing from Time Warner, HBO, ESPN and other media outlets due to Arum’s long-standing influences.

Everything comes with a price however. For Pacquiao, it’s the lack of liberty and control.

Remember the last time Pacquiao was in a position to re-up his contract as his current deal was coming to an end?

During this phase of time, he was scheduled to duel Timothy Bradley for their first of what would be three fights beginning in 2012.

Leading up into their first encounter, there was a question if Pacquiao would resign with Arum and Top Rank, if he would test the waters elsewhere, or if he would retire.

Many observers believed Pacquiao won the fight against Bradley, however Bradley was awarded the decision.

From a conspiracy theorist’s perspective, this may have been a power move from Arum, to keep Pacquiao in check and to let him know who holds the power.

The fight against Horn was the last fight due on his current five fight deal with Top Rank.

Do you think we’ve seen the last of Pacquiao vs. Horn? We’re going to see the pairing two more times.

Four fights were squeezed out of Pacquiao and Marquez, while three fights were squeezed out of Pacquiao and Bradley in recent years.

Undoubtedly Pacquiao will resign with Top Rank – to exact revenge against Horn, continue his farewell “World Tour,” and to carry on fighting at someone else’s leisure.

He will continue to fight till they no longer have use for him.

Rumors of Pacquiao in financial debt, some of the issues VisionQwest uncovered many years ago did not go away. The root of the problem always remained; financial instability, mismanagement of funds, along with wolves seizing advantage of opportunities.

“Boxing is my main source of income. I can’t rely on my salary as a public official,” explained Pacquiao after announcing his return to boxing last year.

“I’m helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well. Many people also come to me to ask for help and I just couldn’t ignore them.”

With the capacity to earn money, comes great responsibility and a legion of persons seeking to take advantage of the benefactor.

People take advantage of Pacquiao’s generosity and it placed him in an unfortunate predicament. A position in which he must continue to fight to earn a living despite previous accomplishments and prize money earned in the past.

It’s truly unfortunate to see fighters forced to fight when it’s obvious their best years are far in the rearview.

In the past, Pacquiao hired the firm of VisionQwest Resource Group, Inc. and VisionQwest Accountancy Group out of Los Angeles, California, to handle all accounting, personal tax, business tax, audits and examinations, as well as all contract reviews.

Turns out tax business operator Michael Cabuhat was arrested in 2015 for defrauding customers through VisionQwest.

Under an alleged scheme that Cabuhat ran from 2010 through 2015, he allegedly stole over a million dollars in refunds that should have gone to clients.

Charges include fraud, aggravated identity theft and structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. Pacquiao unfortunately, was one of Cabuhat’s victims.

Pacquiao hired a company to fix an issue and it turns out the company he hired further exploited the problem.

Financial woes, familiarity and reassurance led to a firm grasp of control from Arum. Control enables power moves.
Arum publicly talked down on Pacquiao in recent years and not always displayed public verbal support in light of a few controversial issues

Dating back to the beginning of the decade, Arum exerted his control over Pacquiao and most of the boxing landscape.

The eight-division champion was pitted against Top Rank stable mates; Bradley, Marquez, Joshua Clottey, ShaneMosley (temporary Top Rank fighter), Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri.

Not only were the match-ups controlled but so was the money flow – being as these were all Top Rank fights. It’s partially the reason why we never saw some of the other matches many fans hoped for.

It’s why we didn’t see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather until it was past the expiration date.

It’s why Pacquiao vs. Paul Williams never occurred, or Pacquiao vs. Amir Khan, Humberto Soto, Joan Guzman, Juan Diaz, etc.

The same is occurring yet again. Do you think we’ll see Pacquiao against the other top welterweights during his “World Tour?”

WBA and WBC unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence, are managed by Al Haymon and under different promotional companies.

Terence Crawford is a name teased for years regarding a potential pairing with the ‘Pac-Man.’ Even though Crawford is a fellow Top Rank stable mate, it seems unlikely we’ll see the two in the ring.

Just like we probably won’t see Pacquiao vs. Thurman, Spence or Danny Garcia. It will be Jeff Horn a few more times. We’ll see what ever makes sense for Top Rank.

It’s important to point out, there isn’t necessarily a mandate for Pacquiao to fight anyone; his legacy is already cemented and there isn’t much that can change it.

But the observation of note is he does not have a choice on whom and when he fights.

From a conspiracy theorist’s lenses, the recent decision in the Pacquiao vs. Horn verdict was an extension of control and to ensure regulation of the type of match-ups that are made. Strings pulled.