"Manny cant fight anyone not promoted by Bob," stated world-class strength & conditioning Alex Ariza, who opened up to fans over the weekend, answering a number of questions from his followers on Twitter. Never afraid to express his honest opinion, Ariza held nothing back when it came to questions regarding a mega-fight between his client, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather. While some fans expressed their opinion that the undefeated fighter was to blame for the bout not happening, Ariza actually shares the same opinion as Mayweather, placing 100% of the blame on promoter Bob Arum.
"Wrong, its Arum," Ariza would reply when a fan suggested that Mayweather should share the blame. In fact, Ariza is of the opinion that perhaps Mayweather should get a higher percentage of the purse if his pay-per-view numbers are indeed higher than Pacquiao's numbers. "Not if Floyd's #s are higher," he answered when a fan asked if Pacquiao deserves a 50/50 split of the purse.
Some think the fight would be much easier to make if Arum was not standing in the way, but the only way that could happen is if Pacquiao can part ways with his longtime promoter, much like De La Hoya, Mayweather, and most recently Cotto was able to do. Unfortunately, that will likely never happen, as the person responsible for giving Pacquiao that advise, Michael Koncz, is more concerned with what's best for Arum, according to Ariza. When asked why Koncz doesn't advise Pacquiao to part ways with Arum, Ariza commented, "Cause he works for Bob."