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Pacquiao willing 'to give a little bit' to make Mayweather fight happen


MACAU — Manny Pacquiao is willing to go the extra mile just to turn his blockbuster showdown with Floyd Mayweather into reality.
 
Pacquiao's business adviser, Mike Koncz, said they will be very flexible when they sit down with the Mayweather group to discuss the possibility of putting two of the world's best fighters in the biggest, richest clash in the history of the sport.
 
The Pacquiao-Mayweather affair has been in the drawing board for the past several years.
 
But with so many roadblocks -- ranging from drug testing and purse sharing to personal grudges and other controversies -- talks kept breaking down even before it could formally take off.
 
This time, Kocz said they are willing to throw everything out of the window and restart the negotiation because the eight-division world champion is already "getting tired of people asking him when is the fight going to take place."
 
"We're very reasonable," said Koncz moments after Pacquiao successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title via a masterful unanimous decision conquest of Chris Algieri Sunday at the Cotai Arena inside The Venetian here.
 
"I don't want to throw numbers out because that is going to hurt our negotiation. But we're very reasonable. We're not expecting to get the lion's share and if we have to give a little bit to get the fight, then we'll do it."
 
In a statement made last week, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said positive developments are taking shape after a distinguished group of businessmen, led by CBS Corporation chief executive Leslie Moonves, is brokering the negotiation.
 
Arum added that Moonves is closely looking at the possibility of co-producing the megabuck fight with HBO and staging it at the massive Cowboys Stadium in Dallas in the first half of next year.
 
Koncz, however, emphasized that only Mayweather can turn the dream showdown into reality.
 
"If this fight is going to happen, it's because Floyd wants it to happen," Koncz said. "It's not going to matter what we want, it's not going to matter what HBO wants, what Arum wants, or what (former Golden Boy CEO Richard) Schaefer wants. The fight is going to happen because Floyd wants it."
 
"We've been trying to get this fight done for the past six or five years. So until I hear something from Floyd, I don't hold high hopes."
 
Koncz also didn't mention any names, but hinted that Pacquiao is willing to go down to the 140-pound weight category if the negotiation with the Mayweather group fell apart.
 
"Our goal is to come down to 140. I think there's a lot of exciting fights there that fans are willing to pay, willing to see," Koncz said. "But again, I don't want to throw up names because these fighters are surely going to jack up their prices." — STR/JST, GMA News
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