Live from San Antonio, Texas
Amidst the madness of the weigh-in for tomorrow night’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco AntonioRubio/Nonito Donaire-Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. twin bill on HBO, I caught up with advisor Michael Koncz, known best for his work with one of the sport’s biggest names, Manny Pacquiao.
Koncz’s name is often in the headlines because of how closely connected he is to his Filipino client and now, just as much as has ever been the case, Pacquiao has seen his name shuffled around both because of the possibility of a super fight with Floyd Mayweather as well as what his next ring endeavor will turn out to be.
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<--- Massive slideshow: An inside look at the Donaire-Vazquez Jr./Chavez Jr.-Rubio weigh-in in San Antonio including cameos by Merchant, Arum, Roach, and behind-the-scenes-shots
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It was thought by some that Pacquiao-Mayweather had a realistic chance of happening but the fight again recently broke down because both sides were unable to agree to a fair split of the revenue related to such a super fight.
Asked if it has been a difficult process trying to iron out Pacquiao’s next move, Koncz insists he had no regrets.
“No, it hasn’t been frustrating,” stated Koncz. “We made an honest attempt to make a deal with Floyd. I did what I thought was right, dealt directly with Floyd. It didn’t work out and that’s why I’m here in San Antonio, to sit down with Bob [Arum] and look at all our options. Hopefully we’ll finalize something by tomorrow night.”
Mayweather had swayed the public in his favor recently by taking to his Twitter account and calling Pacquiao a ‘punk’ and telling him to step up and accept his challenge. Koncz was asked about Floyd’s social-media antics but seemed indifferent.
“I’m not even so sure Floyd is the one Twittering on his own account,” Koncz speculated. “A lot of certain celebrities hire people to do that.”
The shrewd Canadian then recounted the last proposal that was directed towards Mayweather.
“When I met with Floyd four of five times, I’ve got to give him credit, he pleasantly surprised me,” Koncz continued. “He was very professional, very respectful, [but] it didn’t work out. I thought we made a reasonable, faire offer. The last offer that was given to him was a fifty-million guarantee with a 45/55 split, with the winner taking the extra ten percent. He had other plans obviously so I wish him luck and we’re going to move on. We’re not devastated by the fact that we’re not fighting Floyd.”
Koncz did seem to hint that junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley was indeed a leading candidate to land the Pacquiao fight and feels that a deal could be reached as soon as tomorrow evening.
“Again, I’m still in the middle of discussions with Bob on that and we’re looking at all of our options and until it’s final I don’t want to say. But we’ve talked a lot about Timothy Bradley. I plan on talking to Bob again tonight, I had a meeting with him yesterday, and then I’ll relay everything to Manny tonight. Hopefully we can have everything done by tomorrow night,” Koncz affirmed.
And throughout all of this, Koncz insists Pacquiao is never out of the loop.
“I left a week ago and I’m going back on Tuesday, to the Philippines,” said Koncz. “But we’re on the phone regularly.”
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Nonito Donaire-Wilfredo Vazquez pre-fight BONUS SLIDESHOWS
Massive Chavez Jr.-Rubio / Donaire-Vazquez Weigh-in Gallery - A closer look at all four HBO stars weighing in, behind the scenes shots and cameos by Freddie Roach, Bob Arum, Larry Merchant, and several others
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com andwww.Twitter.com/CRHarmony
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