Yesterday evening, I received an interesting text message from Carl Harris, Owner and CEO of Big InterSports Group, an investment group based in California who approached me earlier this year expressing their interest in the mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. “Dude you fucked up by dissing me. Watch the news. Just to let you know I am in new york in bob arums suite. You do the math,” the text message read. Now, keep in mind, I was minding my own business, paying absolutely no attention to the latest rumors about the alleged negotiations going on between Pacquiao and Mayweather. Despite the fact that Pacquiao recently stated that “negotiations are almost done”, and one of his close confidants, Rex “Wakee” Salud, revealed that the fight is “80% from happening” and purses are “already $75 million”, I’ve stood firm in my belief that everyone is being fooled and that Arum, with the help of Michael Koncz, has hatched an elaborate scheme to trick Pacquiao into thinking that he’s working on the fight that he wants (Mayweather), when in reality, he’s really finalizing details for a fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. To some, the idea may sound far-fetched, but given some of the recent tidbits of information released to the media from Arum and those closest to Pacquiao, as well as the text message that I received from Harris, I’m even more convinced, if that was even possible, that there’s no way that the biggest fight in boxing history is “almost done” roughly one week after Koncz paid Mayweather a visit at his gym. I’m sure a lot of you are scratching your heads, wondering, “Who the heck is Carl Harris, what is he doing in Bob Arum’s suite, and why is he texting FightHype?” By all means, allow me to connect the dots and explain.
On May 20, 2011, I was contacted via email by a gentleman named Levi Gutierrez, who said he had a proposal for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout. According to the email, prior to contacting me, Gutierrez had already been in contact with Michael Koncz, who told him that he had reached out to Team Mayweather, but he had yet to hear anything back from them. Gutierrez then explained in the email that Koncz was aware of his investment group’s plans to “buyout the fight for $150 million”, offering a $25 million down payment to each fighter in the form of a cashier’s check as soon as they signed the contracts. The email then stated that his partner, a gentleman by the name of Carl Harris, would be in contact with me later. Sure enough, later that day, I received a similar email from Mr. Harris, explaining that he had “put together a group of investors wanting to promote a bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather” and he was “ready to move forward, once I have contact with Floyd Mayweather’s camp, to present the offer, with a large deposit to make this happen.”
