The Koncz Artist (page 2)

The real question is, do you want the truth or do you want me to jerk you around? If you want the former then continue reading on, but if you want the latter, there's plenty of other places out there to get it at.

Somebody commented saying, they would rather have a fellow Filipino 'leeching' off Manny than a foreigner. Okay.. Honestly to me that's dumb and hypocrisy. When that happens, watch these same people say things like, Oh this guy is a 'crab' a 'leech' or just sticking by Manny for politcs yada yada yada. You know what, just admit it, some people will never be content and will always find something wrong with what Manny is doing. I call people like that as "burots". You know, people who think they always know what's best for other people.

Where I'm coming from is this- if you care to try and get my gist. A lot of people have this perception that Pacquiao is some kind of angel or some naive 10-year old kid who has people dictating things for him to do. It's about time to break that naive misconception and I'll be that uncle who will tell you that Santa Claus does not really exist.

To all you I say, snap out of it! When I say Pacquiao has Koncz doing his dirty work, it doesn't mean it's illegal or something wrong. It's things that lead to stepping on other people's toes. I'm not saying Pacquiao is an evil person, all I am saying is that he, like all of us, is human. He has his flaws, he has his ambitions and those who know nothing about success are the first to cry foul when eggs are broken to make an omelet.

If Pacquiao was anywhere as clueless as some of you think, he wouldn't be anywhere near his status right now. Manny is a savvy and intelligent person.

Now going back to Jaro's complain against Koncz, there's two sides to this story. If you were Bernabe Concepcion, would you have stayed with Jaro or leave with Koncz and Pacquiao for the opportunity of a lifetime? I mean, look at all the opportunities Concepcion is getting together with Mayol and now Z Gorres who just recently signed with MP Promotions and Top Rank. Now am I saying it's okay for Koncz to snake other fighters away from smaller promoters? HELL NO! Of course I can sympathize with Jaro and promoters like him, but you already know Pacquiao would've done the same thing if he was put in a situation like that- because he did. He even signed contracts with different promoters at the same time remember?

Now, if you don't want Koncz to act in behalf of MP Promotions to get these fighters then sign a petition for Manny to close shop. You now what though, when I spoke to Concepcion about the treatment he has gotten from Pacquiao as his manager, he spoke as if Manny saved his life. So would you rather Concepcion dwell in anonymity right now and go hungry? If not for Pacquiao and Koncz do you even think you would care who Concepcion is? I mean, let's face it, it's a dog eat dog business and if these fighters were really any good, you already know some of these other big-time promoters will try to steal and take them away too. At the end of the day, if promoters really cared for their fighters, shouldn't they be happy they are in a better place? But of course, it's all about the money. I suggest that Pacquiao and Koncz simply buy out these fighters' contracts and give their promoters some kind of compensation so that everyone can move right along their merry ways.

Fact is, boxing is a business. Toes will get stepped on, people will get screwed. If you ask me, I'd rather see a promoter getting screwed rather than a fighter because the fighters are the ones who truly put in the hard work and they deserve everything they can get from this punishing sport. I wouldn't blame a fighter nor judge him at all for wanting to sign with a different promoter for a bigger pay day because at the end of the day, these people have mouths to feed. In the perfect world, nobody should ever get screwed but in the perfect world there are no typhoons, no thieves, no liars and people with crab mentality lurking on the internet either.

I am not telling you Koncz is a good person or what not. At the end of the day however, I simply don't care because all that matters to me as a boxing writer and a boxing fan is what Manny does in the ring. Pacquiao can have the Dalai Lama as his personal adviser but if he gets knocked out by Miguel Cotto, it wouldn't mean squat to the boxing world. Now Pacquiao definitely has the option to fire Koncz, but why hasn't he done it yet? If you still don't get it then I don't know what else to say to you. You are free to waste your time and you can even go on a hunger strike and some form of rally to have Koncz "impeached" like Erap in 2000 and Marcos in the 80's.

I just think that it's funny. Why can't we just let Manny be Manny and trust that no matter what, he will still carry the Philippines' back with dignity. If he loses, then he has nobody to blame but himself but as a man who has brought so much glory to his country, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt to be trusted with his decision making. As a fan however, sometimes we need to know where to draw the line. Like I said, if Koncz is indeed a snake then he is not the only one in Pacquiao's circle, but just as the saying goes, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer". After so many times Pacquiao has proven his doubters wrong, they still haven't learned the lesson that 'Pac Man Knows'.

If you read this piece looking for more evidence, dirt, stories and the like that further puts Koncz in a darker light, then I'm sorry because I simply don't think it's relevant coming from a boxing writer's point of view. Maybe when the day comes that I start writing for a tabloid gossip magazine then I'll share you my scoops because I do have a few.

The moral lesson here is simple: Relax. Pacquiao is a world-class professional athlete, one of the best ever at that. You can put him in Mexico, Manila, Antarctica or Alaska, but what truly matters is what beats in his heart. Trust that your idol will give it his all. Trust that he knows better than to let his people down, and if he does fail, the fair-weathered fans will be the ones throwing dirt at him anyway. And all these distractions and these leeches around him, well guess what, they've been there from day one, so what made you think they will affect him now?

If ever Pacquiao loses on November 14, it won't be because of Koncz, Baguio, Ondoy, Roach, Arum or whoever else. It will be because of Miguel Cotto. Maybe if you focused more on the real subject that matters, Pacquiao won't have to lose his reading and hearing about all these other insignificant shenanigans that won't even mean anything inside the ring.

You can believe that Manny is naive all you want and that you know what's best for him but hey, you can also consider asking yourself, maybe it isn't Manny who is clueless. So who is the real con artist? It's simply a matter of perception.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m10d10-The-Koncz-Artist-page-2