Team Pacquiao: House divided, Koncz wanted Roach as Loan Arranger

“Freddie Roach…he’s only the trainer.”—AGENT MICHAEL KONCZ
There’s friction, it’s not fiction, within the boxing camp of Pinoy Idol Manny Pacquiao.

The Megamanny Mansion is becoming a house divided against itself and, as Abraham Lincoln historically noted, such a house cannot stand.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble because the longtime jealousy of Pacman’s furtive Canadian agent Michael Koncz has for the celebrated Coach Roach is out in the open once again.

From Day One, when Koncz first started insinuating himself into Megamanny’s inner circle, there has been bad blood between the Wild Card Gym guru and perennial Trainer of the Year Award winner.

It’s easy to say, oh Pacman he thrives on dissension within Team Pacquiao, he’s like Muhammad Ali in that regard, he gets a weird kick out of the infighting, backbiting and knifethrowing going between members of his well paid crew.

But trusted adviser and well regard Pinoy boxing man Wakee Salud has come out and stated publicly in Cebu that Roach is right to say he’s “pissed” about the way Koncz and Pacman attorney Franklin “Jeng” Gacal seem to blow him off on important boxing matters.

The genial Salud also added that Roach, now making funeral arrangements in Las Vegas for his youngest brother Joseph who died suddenly at age 47 Saturday, is right to be angry that Pacman has not chosen an initial training base or done any light work to get ready for the Nov. 14 Miguel Cotto showdown.

(Roach is not returning calls in his bereaved state and Koncz never answers me so I didn’t bother to chase him.)

For his part, Koncz is blasé and said Megamanny can start training on Sept. 5. Koncz glosses over the fact that Pacman has a mentally strenuous publicity/press conference activity blizzard coming up with appearances in New York, Puerto Rico, San Francisco and Las Vegas.

Now I can reveal one strong source of the enmity between Koncz and Roach.

When Koncz, who became Pacman’s “White Shadow” to get into the fighter’s good graces and abandoned his wife and kids in Orange County, was financially strapped he first turned to the prosperous trainer for a sizable loan, said to be in the 25 to 50 thousand dollar range.

Goodhearted Roach, who lives so modestly and eats, sleeps and breathes boxing six out of seven days a week, turned to his personal and trusted financial adviser regarding the money loan.

The adviser called a couple of veteran boxing types he knew well and inquired about Koncz.

Naturally, those boxing guys knew little, if anything, about the fistic Johnny Come Lately.

The adviser recommended not giving the handout to Koncz.

“Koncz has never forgotten that,” an inflamed source told me Monday. “That burned Koncz and he’s held it against Freddie ever since. That and all the media attention that the popular Roach gets, it burns Mike’s backside.”

In desperation, Koncz turned to Top Rank top dog Bob Arum. That's where he got the sorely needed financial transfusion.

Sounds to me like Pacquiao needs to put down his movie and sitcom scripts and right his own ship.

He’s sailing into deep and dangerous waters with Boricua Cotto and this tension cannot work to his boxing benefit.

What say you, Manny? Or will you handle it the way Koncz has not, internally?
The fragging between the troops has got to stop.

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