By Rick Reeno
Michael Koncz, the adviser to eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38KOs), tells BoxingScene.com that his boxer is not desperate for a fifth meeting with Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40KOs).
After three controversial ending, Marquez secured the most clear-cut victory in last December's fourth showdown - when he knocked out Pacquiao with a single punch in the sixth round.
As recently as last week, Marquez continued to downplay a fifth fight with Pacquiao. He told reporters he saw "no reason" for a fifth fight to happen and would rather challenge Timothy Bradley for the WBO welterweight title.
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum would like to stage Pacquiao-Marquez 5 on September 14th in Macao or Singapore.
Koncz doesn't know if Marquez is making those comments because he wants more money or if he really has no interest in facing Pacquiao again.
"It might be [a negotiations tactic], but I'm not sure. On the other hand, he does have a point because their fights have always been close and controversial. Whether it was a lucky punch or it wasn't a lucky punch - he did hit Manny and put him down, and maybe in his mind he proved everything that he has to prove. We're not desperate to fight him again. I don't know if it's a negotiations ploy or whether it's, in his mind, not necessary to do it again - but we're not desperate to fight him again," Koncz told BoxingScene.com.
