(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Call it a sudden twist of fate, or destiny playing with people's lives, but Manny Pacquiao just got entangled in a disastrous situation.
I'm not about to call a medic, for Manny's problem is not physical, but legal and psychological.
A few weeks ago, he was caught in the middle of a TV network war between Philippine Media giants ABS-CBN and GMA.
The dispute is over who has the right to broadcast his upcoming fight with Ricky Hatton.
Originally, Manny signed a contract with Solar Sports in 2007 which gives them the right to air his fights. Solar Sports then went into partnership with the GMA network so they could broadcast the fight on a local channel.
This contract is binding until 2011.
Out of nowhere, in a surprising ABS-CBN news program appearance on March 18, Pacquiao announced that he will let ABS-CBN cover his fight with Hatton.
His declaration shocked the media industry here in the Philippines.
The country's national fist has clearly committed a breach of contract. He can be sued and made to pay civil damages.
What's worse, Solar Sports threatened to raise this matter with the Supreme Court to prevent Pacquiao's next fight from being shown on Philippine TV.
Should this happen, we can expect another People Power Revolution throughout the archipelago.
At present it has been settled that GMA and Solar Sports will still be the ones to air the Pacquiao vs Hatton fight.
Although it may seem peaceful now, the damage has already been done.
Physically, Manny can still be as explosive as he always was, but psychologically this recent turn of events might distract his focus.
Remember, Manny's legal counsel had to immediately fly to the U.S. to discuss this matter with him in order for them to straighten out this fracas.
This may just seem like a little mess that can easily be ironed out, but we'll never know how much it has actually disrupted Pacquiao.
Knowing how much the media can manipulate people's minds, I'm quite certain that the whole network mess has caused Pacquiao some sleepless nights.
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