Manny Pacquiao’s rumored financial and legal problems aren’t going away any time soon.
According to TMZ, Pacquiao’s former accountants are claiming that they got the Filipino champion out of a very precarious situation involving his taxes last year. The report notes that Pacquiao’s financial problems were so dire that his accountants actually had to lend him money to speed proceedings along.
In the lawsuit that they served him with last week, they expressed that the problems with which they helped him with "seriously affected [his] ability to fight." Unfortunately, instead of returning the money loaned and paying them for their services, Pacquiao allegedly dodged them and refused to pay the bill.
As a result, the accountants are demanding $649,016.95.
Late last week, as noted on Opposing Views, rumors began to circulate about Pacquiao’s ex-accounting firm, VisionQwest, preparing to take action after a brief, messy relationship with the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Pacquiao’s financial standing has been the subject of speculation. Despite the fact that he generated something in the $380 million mark in pay-per-view (PPV) totals prior to his match against “Sugar” Shane Mosley, numerous reports from earlier in the year noted that Pacquiao was worth about $26 million. Neither Pacquiao nor his Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum, would really comment on the issue beyond the typical talking points at the time.
"They say that, by far, he's the richest Congressman in the country," Arum told BoxingScene at one point. "Remember, he's got a lot of real estate also. So I don't know how they account for all that or if it is understated. I would estimate Manny's net worth to be more, a lot more."
At the moment, Pacquiao is busy preparing for his upcoming November 12 bout versus Juan Manuel Marquez. Although he’s traditionally been able to zero in on what he needs to do and block out all distractions, it’s worth keeping an eye on how the champ is able to handle all of this commotion.
Balancing fight preparation with a pending lawsuit isn’t easy. And if Pacquiao needs any reaffirmation on that, he can ask Floyd Mayweather Jr. – whom Pacquiao opted to sue while the undefeated champ was preparing for a fight against Victor Ortiz.