Pacquiao adviser: ‘Sincere’ Floyd wants super fight

MANILA, Philippines – By coming over to and chatting with Manny Pacquiao at halftime of Wednesday’s NBA game between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee bucks, Floyd Mayweather Jr. proved his sincerity in working out a deal for a megabuck showdown.

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz, who was at the Filipino icon’s side when he met Floyd at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, spoke about the encounter in great detail to fighthype.com’s Ben Thompson.

Koncz insists that even minor issues have already been dealt with in order to seal a deal for a May 2 super fight, specifically the pay-per-view broadcast arrangement. Mayweather is under contract with Showtime while Pacquiao’s fights are aired by rival network HBO.

“We had a brief discussion and then Floyd decided to come over. So Manny and I both told Floyd after the fact that we give him a lot of credit and respect for doing that under the circumstances,” Koncz told Thompson.

“There were some hurdles that Floyd brought to our attention and I told Floyd, ‘Floyd, if that's the only issues, with broadcasting, there's no problem there. We can get those worked out in the morning.’ Because to me, they were minor issues, even though they seemed to be bigger hurdles to Floyd than we felt they were, and I did what I told him I was going to do. They're resolved,” he added.

“The guys want the fight to happen, so I think it's going to happen. We discussed a couple of issues, more so pertaining to the broadcasting of the fight, and I got on the phone this morning and I think all of Floyd's concerns have been worked out regarding the broadcasting between Showtime and HBO,” Koncz continued.

Pacquiao and Mayweather swapped numbers after their brief chat, but their encounter didn’t end there. The undefeated American reportedly visited Pacquiao in his hotel the same night, and the two continued their personal discussion.

“It's [Floyd visiting Manny] true. It's true. And I think it was a very productive discussion. I like to call it a discussion, one-on-one with me, Floyd, and Manny, than a meeting,” Koncz continued.

 “Again, I've always said, when Floyd's by himself, he's very professional, very polite, very cordial, and he's pleasant to talk to. Sometimes when he's got his entourage, it's a different story, but every time I've met him one on one, including last night, it's a pleasant experience. He's knows what he's talking about. You know, we have nothing bad to say about Floyd,” said Koncz, who in the same interview denied stuttering after allegedly being told by Mayweather to “stop lying.”

Wednesday’s meet-up was a flicker of hope for turning into reality what potentially could be the richest fight in boxing history. Pacquiao is giving Mayweather until this week to agree to the terms.

Koncz, for his part, thinks Mayweather’s gesture proves he wants the fight as much as Pacquiao does.

“Floyd met with us and how can I say he's not sincere. I believe he's sincere. I don't have anything to contradict the fact that he's not sincere,” he said.

“Now if he didn't meet us in person and was just talking on the internet and stuff, then maybe I could have doubts, but he was here, we looked eye to eye, we talked and I truly believe he's sincere and wants to make the fight happen.” – Dino Maragay