FROM ALI TO PACQUIAO, MURAD MUHAMMAD IN HIS OWN WORDS PT. 9: FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS

"I don't chase fighters; never in my life! I like the rejected fighters. I like the fighters that no one would give them a break. I like fighters that I know have the ability, but don't know how to get there. I could count on one hand how many fighters had the heart to come to me and tell me that they needed to be escalated to another level. But all of my fighters…I used to say I'm the resurrector. I used to take fighters that people gave up on and resurrect them… I have been an entrepreneur all of my life. I never had a job, so I don't know how to take a paycheck, but what I do know how to do is create…And that's when I brought Pacquiao to Las Vegas, Nevada," stated promoter Murad Muhammad as he talked more about Roy Jones Jr., his departure and eventual return to Las Vegas and much more. Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look into the history of the sport as Murad himself tells his story in his own words. From Muhammad Ali to Manny Pacquiao, he has worked alongside some of the biggest names in boxing and you don't want to miss more of his extremely revealing tales. Check it out!

I don't chase fighters; never in my life! I like the rejected fighters. I like the fighters that no one would give them a break. I like fighters that I know have the ability, but don't know how to get there. I could count on one hand how many fighters had the heart to come to me and tell me that they needed to be escalated to another level. But all of my fighters…I used to say I'm the resurrector. I used to take fighters that people gave up on and resurrect them. But when a fighter comes to me, like Roy Jones Jr., when he was making 3 million, I told Roy, "That 3 million is yours. I don't want what you have because if I start taking money from you, I become an employee."

I have been an employer all of my life. I have been an entrepreneur all of my life. I never had a job, so I don't know how to take a paycheck, but what I do know how to do is create and if I can create, I want a piece of that. So we made a deal and I escalated him to a level in the boxing world that could have been higher than any athlete, or at least any heavyweight, has ever made. But we broke that bank and I told Roy, we need to go higher. Roy Jones Jr. is another man; when Mike Tyson tore up Vegas, I went to the MGM Grand and negotiated a $10 million dollar deal. This is all documented. Anything I tell you is all documented. I negotiated a $10 million dollar deal and I said to the MGM Grand, "The difference is we ain't going to tear up your hotel, but we gonna bring the fans." They said to me that Roy ain't worth $10 million, so I said, "Well what do you think he's worth?" They said, "$2 million!" I said, "Yeah, but you gonna pay him 10 and if we only make 3, we'll give you 7 back, if we make 5, we will give you 5 back. We don't want what we don't make." They said, "Well Roy would never agree to that." I got Roy on the telephone and I said, "Champ," and I told him the formula and he said, "He's right. We don't want you to give us something that we don't deserve, but you gonna put in the contract that we worth $10 million."

What happened was I had an incident in '82 with the Nevada Commission. They faulted me with that rumble in the ring during the time of Razor Ruddock and Tyson. I hired the best lawyer in that city. His name was Oscar Goodman and Oscar Goodman told me that this was a domestic case. I said, "No, this is a criminal case because what they trying to do to me is criminal." They wanted to bar me from Las Vegas and never have a license. So Oscar, who is the Mayor today, was one of the best criminal lawyers in Las Vegas, Nevada and if you ever seen "Casino" with Robert De Nero, his lawyer was Oscar. He played himself in the movie.

So anyway, Oscar wins the case for me and they said, "Arum had a problem and we fined him and King $25,000. Duva had a problem. He ran across the ring and smacked one of the officials and we fined him $25,000. So it wouldn't be good if you don't pay anything." So I agreed to pay $25,000 and they gave me my license back. I will never forget, the commissioner, who is no longer there, said, "Murad, we welcome you; come back when you want to." Well, I never came back because I don't come into the home of a giant like Arum with an inferior fight. I won't do it. I gotta come in with a fight bigger than ever. I remember a MGM Grand executive, Bob Holland, said, "Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce to you a man that, when he leaves Vegas, he comes back larger than when he left." I'll never forget that introduction. And that's when I brought Pacquiao to Las Vegas, Nevada!

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK FOR PART 10 AS MUHAMMAD REVEALS MUCH MORE ABOUT MANNY PACQUIAO (YOU KNOW IT'S COMING) AND HIS YEARS AS A PROMOTER

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[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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