By Ronnie Nathanielsz

MICHAEL Koncz, pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s adviser, is scheduled to meet with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum on Tuesday to help finalize the options for the Filipino ring icon’s next fight.

Pacquiao himself was originally scheduled to meet with Arum during a family holiday in the US, but the Fighter of the Decade decided to call off the vacation and spend time with his family in his hometown of General Santos instead.

He was also supposed to give his deposition on the defamation charges he filed against Floyd Mayweather Jr. over allegations that he was on performance-enhancing drugs.

However, since Mayweather begins a 90-day prison term on Jan. 6, Pacquiao’s lawyers advised him to postpone his deposition, although the undefeated American boxer had already given his after several postponements.

Trainer Freddie Roach also confirmed what Arum and Koncz previously told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard about the four possible opponents for a Pacquiao fight, which the Top Rank promoter would like to stage in June. They are Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Roach clarified though that Peterson, who recently won a controversial decision over his ward Amir Khan, was not his first choice.

By insisting that the fight be held outside of Las Vegas, where he alleged that the judges don’t award him the victories he claimed he deserved in three previous fights with Pacquiao, Marquez may have actually removed himself from the roster of possible opponents, since the Filipino champ is not accustomed to giving into demands of his opponents.

Koncz said he would fly to Las Vegas to meet with Arum, who is vacationing with his wife Lovee in Mexico, on Monday (Tuesday Manila Time) and “see what I can do over there.”

There was a hint that Koncz and Arum may also discuss the possibility of a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in November once the American gets out of a possible shorter prison term for good behavior and has enough time to train for a megabuck showdown with the Pacman.

Koncz himself met with Mayweather weeks ago and said that the “Money” can be very nice. He said the same thing about Floyd’s uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather, who trains fighters at the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas.

Koncz said he will be back in Manila on Jan. 10 to present Pacquiao with the various options.