Pacquiao wants more money for Margarito fight
Apparently unhappy with an initial offering for a title fight with bad-boy Antonio Margarito, champion fighter Manny Pacquiao has asked for more money from his promoters, Michael Morley of Boxing Examiner confirms.
Pacquiao instructed his agent, Michael Koncz, to lobby for more money than that initially put on the table for the 13 November bout.
Koncz said that Pacquiao’s request is not an indication that he is upset with Bob Arum, who promotes the seven-division champion out of Top Rank Promotions.
“It's not unusual, it's how we generally make these deals,” Koncz clarified. “Bob gives me a set of numbers and then I go over them with Manny. Manny and I spent the day together, I even sat in Congress with him and then we went over Arum's figures. Now Manny has given me the numbers he would like and I will take that back to Bob.”
In a related note, Koncz said that the recent involvement of Don King in Mayweather’s inner circle could signal a positive change in a prospected Pacquiao fight. Then he clarified terms: “But King's going to look for a good chunk for himself, more than Golden Boy took. We don't have a problem or an issue with that but I assure you that King getting involved will not mean that Manny will accept a penny less than what he deserves.”
It is expected that Pacquiao will begin training camp for the Margarito bout on 20 August in Manila so that he can tend to his lawmaking duties in Congress. In May Pacquiao was officially proclaimed congressman of the Saragani province.
Antonio Margarito is expected to be before the California boxing Commission on 18 August to renew his boxing license. It was stripped from him and suspended for a year due to illegal handwraps found in his gloves before a match in Los Angeles with Sugar Shane Mosley.
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