Manny Pacquiao outdid himself recently.

No, he did not win a fight.

What he did was rock this country again, get everyone to talk about him, and make two giant television entities sit on pins and needles.

Pacquiao was the talk of the town again?and this time, it was for all the wrong reasons.

First, the world?s best pound-for-pound fighter conveniently took a break from training to sign up with ABS-CBN for the exclusive coverage of his fights, starting with the May 2 bout against Britain?s Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas.

It was a deal complete with an exclusive television announcement on ABS-CBN?s news program ?TV Patrol.?

And just when everyone was busy talking about it, he made a retraction in which he announced, as conveniently as he did when he made the switch, that he was going back to GMA 7, and Solar Sports.

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Remember that this is the same Manny Pacquiao who once signed contracts to promote his fights with two parties, Top Rank of Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions of Oscar De La Hoya.

If he could get away doing such a thing to high-profile Americans, Pacquiao must have thought he could easily do the same to a nation that adores him as a hero.

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I?d like to look at Pacquiao?s actions in a different context, in a different light. He was inclined to do such things because circumstances forced him to do so.

I?m not apologizing for him, but in trying to understand his actions, I have come to one conclusion: Even for a fighter of his caliber, he cannot win everything.

Pacquiao has become a victim of his own selfishness, his own greed. Not for money, mind you, but for power and attention?things that some people simply cannot live without.

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Did Pacquiao simply turn his back on ABS-CBN when Solar owner Wilson Tieng went to the United States to talk things over? I doubt it.

Pacquiao rescinded his old contract with Solar supposedly because of delays in the payment of franchise fees. He is supposed to earn at least P60 million per fight under the deal, payable in three installments, with a fourth, representing 5 percent of gross sales, to be given after each fight.

And why was he asking Solar to open its books to him?

I honestly don?t think that, after Tieng?s US trip, the amount would stay the same. Like I said, it?s none of my business. What I know is that Pacquiao needs all the money he can get, even though he already has mountains of it.

I think Pacquiao behaved that way because of his desire to again enter politics, the ugly system that is gobbling up his subconscious each day.

He would require tons of money to maintain his present lifestyle. People say you can?t win elections without a truckload of money. And if he does win a seat in the House of Representatives, just how much would he need to stay there?

That?s the system that has really caught Pacquiao?s attention. He openly told the world that he would retire in the very near future to seek public office.

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He may not realize it at this time, but I think that it would be better for Pacquiao to fight only the fights that he has a chance of winning. It would be better for him to leave politics alone, because he?s not built for it.

Perhaps he could take the cue from De La Hoya, who now helps other boxers build their careers while protecting them from greedy promoters.

This is where he can leave a lasting legacy. In that way, Pacquiao wouldn?t be a willing victim.