Michael Koncz: 'Marquez Has Got Manny Figured Out'

From time to time, boxing’s popular names say something that was probably meant to be kept away from the public. Some things said are really meant to be locked up inside the person’s head and away from you and I. Whether it’s a change in the professional relationship or the pressure from the media that causes this secret to come out, regret usually follows. 

In April of 2010, I had the opportunity to do an exclusive one-on-one interview with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card boxing gym. We talked for over half an hour, covering anything from boxing to movies. When engaged in the hot topic about his star pupil Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2), we touched upon a possibility of a fight against his former rival Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1).

I was trying to give the interview spice and ask questions that would inspire Roach to show some emotion, but what he told me regarding Pacquiao and Marquez was more than I had hoped for. Roach’s response to a fight with Marquez was very careful and chiseled, stating that Marquez is very dangerous for Manny, and that Marquez possibly has Pacquiao’s number.

Just a little bit after that interview, I wrote an article, expressing my urgency in making the third fight come to fruition. Most boxing readers who responded, gave me negative feedback, saying that Pacquiao has nothing else to prove against Marquez. I ultimately disagreed with those opinions, and am still holding the same position. 

Just a few days go, at a press conference for Pacquiao’s showdown against Shane Mosley (46-6-1), Pacquiao’s long time adviser Michael Koncz had the following to say: "We're never going to rule him out but as Manny said a long time ago, we have nothing more to prove with Marquez. Me, personally, Marquez has got Manny figured out for some reason and if we fight him twenty times I believe all twenty times there is going to be controversy on who wins that fight." - Link 

I see this as a very powerful statement from a person who not only knows boxing, but is probably very in-tune with what Pacquiao may feel. But what can we possibly take away from Koncz’s statement? What I think this could potentially mean, is that maybe Pacquiao himself does not feel that his history with Marquez has been clearly settled. So why not fight Marquez? Pacquiao is only, and simply, a fighter. His advisers, just like a president’s, are there to walk him down the road and hold his hand. Bob Arum and Freddie Roach are the ones who ultimately handpick Pacquiao’s opposition. 

Some would say that Koncz was trying to build up a potential future fight between the two, but at this point in time it’s not probable. Both Freddie Roach and Bob Arum have expressed that a fight with Marquez would be meaningless for Pacquiao at this point in his career. Weight would of course also come up as an issue. 

So is it possible that Manny Pacquiao showed or expressed some emotion about Marquez to Team Pacquiao or Michael Koncz himself? Let’s talk about this and see what we can come up with. One thing I always say, is that any sentence could be ignored as insignificant, or found to be very vital instead, depending on what you know and willing to research.