Manny Pacquiao
clearly wants to fight Floyd Mayweather in his first fight back, for which dates in November have been set aside, his adviser, Michael Koncz, told FanHouse."Of course, Manny wants to fight Floyd Mayweather first, because he wants to please the fans. But again, we're not going to do things that are not appropriate or advantageous to Manny to please the fans," said Koncz, who is in the Philippines with Pacquiao, a newly-elected congressional leader in the Saragani province.
"We appreciate his fans, Manny loves the fans, but it's also a business," said Koncz. "Manny gets into the ring and risks his life every time that he fights. So, you know, we also have to be congnizant of the economic side of things."Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, told Boxingscene.com that he has "reserved the date [Nov. 13,] and both the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and MGM Grand in Las Vegas are available."
"The cable systems and the satellite providers have put the date aside for us, so the table is set. Manny can get sworn in at the end of June, then attend the sessions of congress in July," said Arum.
"And as long as he keeps in shape, then he has plenty of time to train for the fight," said Arum. "The first part of his training, Manny may want to train in Baguio City [Philippines,] which worked out nicely for the Miguel Cotto fight, or at the Wild Card Boxing Club [in Hollywood, Calif.] There are a lot of options open."
A Mayweather-Pacquiao bout seemed destined for March 13 at the MGM Grand before talks ground to a halt over the issue of random drug testing for both fighters to be conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
The fighters had agreed on a 50-50 split of the revenue, as well as eight ounce gloves and a clash at the welterweight (147 pounds) limit rather than a catch weight.
But as a result of the negotiations impasse, the 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) used the March 13 date to score a unanimous decision victory over Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium, where he earned $12 million before a crowd of 51,000.
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old, Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KOs) fought 38-year-old, WBA welterweight titlist, Shane Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs), earning a unanimous decision on May 1 at the MGM.
Coming off of those dominating victories, it seems that the next best options -- and the most lucrative for both boxers -- is to fight each other.
"There are no active negotiations, but w're open to negotiations going on. But I believe that in order for this fight to be made, any negotiations must be kept private and not be addressed in the press. Otherwise, this fight will never happen," said Koncz, adding that Arum was in the Philippines to support Pacquiao's campaign run.
"I had that discussion with Bob Arum as I took him to the airport, and he agreed with me," said Koncz. "So, all terms and the conditions that we discuss or negotiate will be kept confidential until or unless the negotiations fall apart. And in the event that fight is made, they will never be disclosed."
A six-time champion over five weight classes, Mayweather earned a non-heavyweight record, $22.5 million purse to Mosley's $7 million, generated 1.4 million per per buys, and earned a career-high, $40 million with the pay per view upside added in.
With that result, there is a perception among observers that Mayweather may seek a higher split of the purse and revenue against Pacquiao.
"They seem to think that he had a spectacular win over Shane Mosley. I mean, he had a win, and it was a decent win. But it doesn't put him in the driver's seat to demand substantially more percentages than Manny," said Koncz.
"Now there's been rumors, or statements attributed to Mayweather -- and whether they're true or not, I don't know -- saying that they deserve the lion's share," said Koncz. "But if they come to the negotiation table with that mindset, the door will close before it opens all the way."
Under which conditions, if any, would Pacquiao consider being randomly drug-tested by the USADA?
"Our position remains the same," said Koncz. "We'll fight anybody anywhere pursuiant to the rules and regulations of the specific commission of the state that we fight in. We're not making concessions. That's the official statement."
If Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn't happen, both fighters are likely to consider their next-best options.
Mayweather might possibly move up against 35-year-old, Argentinian-born, southpaw, Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), who owns the WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown as well as the WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds).
Martinez dethroned Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) last month for the middleweight belts, scoring a unanimous decision before Pavlik's partisan fans in Atlantic City.
Martinez told BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno that he would like to fight Mayweather, at any weight between 154 to 160-pounds.
Martinez said that he is willing to accept Mayweather's demand for a random Olympic-style drug testing protocol.
"I am willing to fight anyone who is acceptable to HBO. I will leave the opponent to my handlers Sampson Lewkowicz and [promoter] Lou DiBella. But I want to fight Mayweather. It would be honor to fight Mayweather or [Antonio] Margarito. Mayweather is the first [on my list], then Margarito and then Paul Williams," said Martinez.
"Mayweather is the pound for pound best fighter on earth, and whatever Maywaether says, I will accept. It will be an honor to fight him, regardless of the weight," said Martinez. "But it has to be at 154 and up because I can't get below 154. I will not sacrifice my life for any amount of money. I don't mind doing any [drug] tests that he demands, and I will do them with pleasure up until the day of the fight."
For Pacquiao, there is 32-year-old, comebacking, former world champion, Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs), of Mexico, who is coming off of last Saturday night's 10-round, unanimous, junior middlweight decison over Roberto Garcia (28-3, 21 KOs).
Not only did Margarito's victory end Garcia's five-year, 14-bout unbeaten streak that included 10 knockouts, but also, a nearly 16-month ring exile for the winner.
Margarito (pictured at right, on the right) was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission following a January, 2009, ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley that dethroned him as WBA champion.
The loss was suffered after Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson's, discovery of a plaster-like substance in Margarito's gloves that was subsequently removed and confiscated prior to the fight.
"Again, Manny's going to make the final decision, but Margarito's is certainly a style that suits Manny's style. I think that it could be a much, much bigger draw than the Joshua Clottey fight, obviously," said Koncz of a fighter who, like Pacquiao, is promoted by Arum.
"Margarito, despite what happened with the commission, still has huge following," said Koncz. "And I believe that if the fight was in Dallas, Texas, that we probably would come close to selling out the stadium, if not selling it out."
But the fight everyone wants is Mayweather-Pacquiao, and Koncz, the congressman's closest adviser, says Pacquiao wants it as well.
"We're certainly open to discuss it, but we're not going to be bullied into a fight, and we're not going to bow to ludicrous concessions," said Koncz.
"If the Mayweather fight doesn't happen, will Manny retire? Absolutely not," said Koncz. "So it depends on how they come to the negotiations table. But if it doesn't happen, we'll move on to the next fight."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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