Mike Koncz, Manny Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, warns that the reported $5-million purse to face the unbeaten Jeff Horn for April 23 is not commensurate to the Filipino’s immense stature and drawing power. Koncz said he watched a streamed press conference that was held in Brisbane following Top Rank chief Bob Arum’s declaration that a deal has been reached with Horn’s promoter in Las Vegas. “We won’t accept $5 million,” said Koncz.
It was during the presser that the $5 million paycheck was mentioned and Koncz thought that was too small a figure for the Filipino legend to accept. Koncz cited a similar incident in the past when Arum had to produce another $5-million so Pacquiao would affix his signature to the contract. Arum met with Duco Promotions head Dean Lonergan in Las Vegas on Tuesday and the decision was immediately relayed to Horn, who was ecstatic when told about the news.
Lonergan told the Courier Mail, the local paper of Brisbane and Horn’s hometown, that the venue remains up in the air although they are going to work doubly hard in making sure the fight ends up on Australian soil. Brisbane, which boasts of the 52,000-capacity Suncorp Stadium is said to be bidding with the backing of the state government of Queensland.
