Manny Pacquiao counter-punch: Acquitted of contract-breach charges

MANILA — A Federal court in the United States has acquitted the Filipino superstar boxer Manny Pacquiao from charges of breach of contract he had allegedly signed with Imperial ED Promotions, in November 2010.

Chief Judge Ricardo Hinojosa, of the Federal Court of Southern Texas, said the ink-dating expert hired by the court had examined the documents presented by Imperial ED against Pacquiao, and pronounced these as having been “doctored”.

Pacquiao’s lawyer, David Marroso, noted how his client has become the target of some unscrupulous individuals or companies as his popularity increased over the last several years.

“People are filing baseless lawsuit against Manny seeking hundreds of thousands and, sometimes, millions of dollars,” Marroso was quoted today by the tabloid Bandera as saying. “They just want the chance to hit the lottery against him.”

Imperial ED had alleged that Pacquiao failed to honour his obligation to appear before his fans and signed autographs in an event that was supposed to take place two months before his triumph against Antonio Margarito in Arlington, Texas on November 13, 2010.

Pacquiao, now a congressman of the southern Philippine province of Sarangani, is the first eight-division world champion—with 10 world titles—and the first to win the lineal championship (a notional world championship title) in four different weight classes.

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