Manny Pacquiao is going to meet up with a group of businessmen in England in the hopes of getting a deal in pace for him to face British pride Amir Khan in London.
Pacquiao is due in London this weekend where the Filipino is also scheduled to meet with Prince Harry.
But a discussion with what Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz described as “influential boxing people” could end up as the main agenda during the whirlwind trip as hopes begin to fade that Floyd Mayweather would agree to a fight on May 2.
Pacquiao has readily agreed on all major points but Mayweather continues to stall and signs lead to him picking somebody else as his dancing partner in Las Vegas.
While a Khan clash won’t be as mouth-watering as a Mayweather matchup, the pairing remains a hot commodity among fight fans knowing that the two have a mini-rivalry.
When Khan was still being trained by Freddie Roach, he sparred a lot with Pacquiao with anecdotes saying that Pacquiao used to beat him up, something Khan vehemently denies.
Even though Khan is on the horizon, Koncz insists that Pacquiao hasn’t given up on Mayweather.
“We are not shutting the door and we’re not pulling the plug just yet,” said Koncz, who didn’t express surprise that Mayweather has been inconspicuously silent regarding a Pacquiao fight.
In a story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Pacquiao said he is giving Mayweather until the end of the month to make a decision.
But Koncz believes that it’ll take a miracle for Mayweather to agree to a showdown with Pacquiao.
“Mayweather doesn’t care about the fans,” said Koncz, stressing that the US fighter might end up retiring unbeaten but “his legacy won’t be complete.”
“How can he say that he was the best fighter of his era when he didn’t fight Manny Pacquiao? How can he says he is No. 1 when he doesn’t want to fight somebody of equal footing” added Koncz.
Like Koncz, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum has grown fed up with Mayweather’s antics.
“When push comes to shove, he backs down,” said the 83-year-old Arum, who used to promote Mayweather.