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Source: ABS-CBN News

-- Manny Pacquiao’s adviser belied reports saying that the pound-for-pound king will use his defamation lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to negotiate for the botched blockbuster fight.

“Why do we need to use the lawsuit as a bargaining chip? That’s ridiculous,” Canadian Mike Koncz told Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star.

“Manny’s reputation has been tarnished. And we just talked to our lawyers in Los Angeles the day before yesterday. It’s full steam ahead as far as the lawsuit is concerned,” he added.

Koncz clarified trainer Freddie Roach’s earlier statement that the mega fight could happen if Pacquiao and Mayweather met halfway—with the former dropping his defamation lawsuit and the latter forgoing his demand for Olympic-style drug testing.

The Canadian adviser said the chatter of a possible tradeoff is “totally absurd,” reported Ronnie Nathanielsz of PhilBoxing.com. He added that “a tradeoff is out of the question.”

Pacquiao sued Mayweather and some members of his camp for alleging that the Filipino boxing icon was taking performance-enhancing drugs (PED).

Their supposed March 13 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada did not push through after Pacquiao disagreed with Mayweather’s demand for an Olympic-style blood testing procedure.

Apology not enough

Koncz noted that a public apology from Mayweather and his camp will not be able to fix the damage done by their PED allegations.

“They have, by their unfounded allegations, caused damage to Manny and they must answer for that,” he told Nathanielsz.

He also told The Philippine Star that Pacquiao would drop the lawsuit if he is “compensated monetarily or the Mayweathers are punished by the court and asked to pay millions or if there’s an off-the-court settlement.”

“It was never our intention to file the lawsuit and use it later on as a bargaining chip for a fight,” he pointed out.

Fight could still happen

The 7-division world champion Pacquiao earlier commented that the Mayweather bout is a good match. But he remarked that he does not need to fight the undefeated American because he already reached the pinnacle of boxing.

“Manny has said time and again that the fight is going to happen only if Floyd Mayweather lets the commission [Nevada State Athletic Commission] do what it’s supposed to do,” Koncz stated.

Pacquiao went on to fight Joshua Clottey on March 13, defeating the Ghanaian by unanimous decision at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Filipino boxing sensation retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) title.

Mayweather, on the other hand, will face fellow American Shane Mosley, the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight super champion, on May 1 at the MGM Grand. Both fighters agreed to undergo Olympic-style drug testing.

Pacquiao even thinks that Mosley will defeat Mayweather.

“The People’s Champ” is currently campaigning for his Sarangani Province congressional bid in the May 10 polls.