• Floyd Mayweather Jnr v Manny Pacquiao

Pacquiao camp doubts economic sense of Floyd fight

ESPN staff
January 12, 2012
Another obstacle has emerged to a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jnr super-fight © PA Photos
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Manny Pacquiao's financial advisor has claimed a May 5 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jnr is "foolish from an economic standpoint".

The possibility of a super-fight between the two appears to have increased in recent days, after Pacquiao revealed he had instructed his promoter Bob Arum to pursue an agreement with Mayweather. As a result the American publicly called out the Filipino on Twitter - telling the "punk" to "step up" and take the bout.

However, Pacquiao's financial advisor Michael Koncz has attempted to quell the heightened speculation - claiming an early May fight date makes no sense if a new 45,000-seater arena in Las Vegas will not be built in time to play host.

A smaller venue, the MGM Grand, is available and preferred by Mayweather, but Koncz notes that will mean both fighters leaving a lot of money on the table.

''Why would I tell Manny to fight on the 5th and throw away a percentage of $30 million? That's crazy," Koncz told the Associated Press.

However, Top Rank boss Arum later conceded the contest "could happen very, very easily" at the end of the month, which would allow time for the outdoor venue ''the fight so badly needs'' to be constructed.

The date remains the key problem, with both fighters seemingly in general agreement about how the purse should be split - with Pacquiao happy to divide it straight down the middle. That is not to say an issue will not arise if the problem with the fight date is resolved, however.

''The purse is not the issue right now, the date is,'' Koncz added. ''But we don't have a problem splitting it 50-50.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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