Pittsburgh Fight Sports ExaminerScott Heritage 
Another of boxing's all too frequent sad stories has been making the rounds recently. Tommy Hearns is being forced to auction most of his possessions in order to pay off tax debts.
Hearns is not the first, and he certainly won't be the last either. Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson shared the same fate, as did Hasim Rahman, Antonio Tarver and many other greats throughout the years.
The two biggest stars in boxing today are undeniably Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, and although they are polar opposites in personality and style in the ring, there are some things they share in common.
Both have lavish lifestyles and earn millions, both are adored by millions of fans across the globe, and both are tipped by many to someday be flat broke.
Floyd 'money' Mayweather is known for his expensive tastes, and regularly flashes his cash around. His biggest problem seems to be that like most boxers, he has little or no sense with his money.
Case in point several years ago he was robbed of much of his 'bling' at the time, and thieves made off with over $7 million worth.
Now unless you are the Queen of England, keeping that kind of money tied up in jewelry isn't a good idea, and she has a private regiment of soldiers to guard hers.
The rumor in many boxing circles was that Floyd Mayweather returned to the ring after his brief retirement because he was running low on funds. His out of the ring business ventures (such as his Philthy rich records label) are something of a mixed bag in terms of success, but don't make enough to sustain Mayweather's lifestyle. Check out Michael Marley's report on Floyd's latest trouble with one of his talents.
Mayweather was also reportedly taken in by a con man shortly after his retirement, who is said to have fleeced him of most of his wealth and left him unable to pay his taxes in 2007. As expected the IRS came knocking, as well as several others who were owed money and Mayweather was forced back into the ring to pay them.
He does seem to be lessening his constant bragging about how much money he has of late, and has allegedly switched to using fake $100 bills to 'make it rain' when he goes out for a quiet drink at his local bar. Most of his money troubles can seemingly be linked to being taken in by the con man, who sources only name as Willie, which of course can happen to anyone.
How long it will take for Mayweather to blow the money he's making at the moment is anyone's guess. He might even start to invest his money wisely or cut back on his spending so that he can retire in the near future.
Knowing what happens to most ex-pugilists with too much money and not enough financial sense though, the odds.
Manny Pacquiao if anything has the completely opposite problem to his rival Mayweather. Rather than spending his money in a vain attempt to impress people as Floyd seems to, Pacquiao tends to give away lots of his money to any and every cause he can find. There is even a joke circulating that there is a welfare state in the Philippines, and he goes by the name of Manny Pacquiao.
The Philippines as a much lower cost of living than the United States of course, and Pacquiao would really have to be spending his money very recklessly to run out. Stranger things have happened though, and Pacquiao recently broke Muhammed Ali's record for the biggest entourage following him to his fights.
Flying over a hundred people around and very often paying them a wage as well isn't cheap, and there is concern from many fans that some of the people that surround Pacquiao are taking advantage of him.
In the old days his childhood friend Buboy Fernandez was a one man team who made sure that Pacquiao had everything he needed for his fights, training and everything else. These days there is a separate man who takes care of each individual task, and is often paid very well for it.
Added to this is the burden of his political aspirations and campaigning, which cost him millions of dollars last time around with nothing to show for it. His chances of winning this time are reportedly said to be slim as well.
Outside the ring Pacquiao has several businesses dotted around his homeland, and most are said to do well. How well things will go should Pacquiao become unpopular if he gets elected though is another question.
Pacquiao does have the advantage of having the right people keeping track of his money, and many of the bogus or dubious requests for assistance are turned away. Generosity has been the downfall of many people in the past however, and Pacquiao, if he isn't careful, could well follow suit.
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The lavish lifestyle of Pacquiao and Mayweather is for me just fair for them, 'cause they work for it. They must just be smart enough so don't run out of it. We can never tell what will happen.
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