Manny Pacquiao's New TV Contract Sparks Legal battle

Popular Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao announced Wednesday his partnership with ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation of the Philippines for the TV coverage of his upcoming fights after terminating his contract with Solar Sports TV.

Popular Filipino boxer and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao announced he had signed with Philippine television giant ABS-CBN to telecast his forthcoming fights. Inquirer.net reports:

The world’s pound-for-pound king made the announcement over ABS-CBN-TV Patrol Wednesday night, putting an end to several days of speculation that he was ditching old partner Solar Sports for “a giant network” starting with his May 2 bout with Ricky Hatton .

Pacquiao said in his announcement on TV news program ‘Bandila’ that he approached ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network to become his new partner again in connection with the media coverage for his upcoming fights. In a statement released Wednesday, ABS-CBN said:

We are very happy with the decision of Manny Pacquiao to be his partner in future fights including the Hatton fight on May 2,” said Bong Osorio, ABS-CBN head of corporate communications, in a statement Wednesday.

‘Under the deal with ABS-CBN, the next fights of Pacquiao will be aired over the network and not on GMA-7, which telecast the recent fight of the Filipino ring icon’, Inquirer.net added Previous to the new agreement with ABS-CBN, Manny Pacquiao was under contract with cable TV Solar Sports for the airing and telecast of his fights including the Pacquiao-Hatton match which is scheduled for May 2, 2009 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Solar sports maintained that they have a live contract with Manny Pacquiao that would run until 2012. The Inquirer report added’. In late-breaking development, Solar Sports reiterated that it still had a legal right to air the Pacquiao fight’. In a TV interview aired by ABS-CBN News, Atty.Enrique de la Cruz, counsel for Solar Sports, said that Solar will take appropriate legal action against ABS-CBN Broadcasting.