Adrien Broner is officially in the race to get a shot against Manny Pacquiao on April 9. Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, confirmed that he did talk to Broner about the possible showdown.
Broner, who is the reigning World Boxing Association super lightweight champion, recently told Fighthype that Koncz informed him that he is the race to get a shot against Pacquiao.
"I hear they want me to fight Pacquiao next," said Broner, who is a close friend of Pacquiao's rival, Floyd Mayweather Jr. "Michael Koncz actually called me. We're waiting to hear from him."
Reacting to Broner's claims, Koncz said that he is disappointed, but he confirmed that he personally called the 26-year-old world champion to gauge his interest in facing Pacquiao in April.
"I wish Adrien would not have made the comments he did to the media prematurely," Koncz told BoxingScene. "But yes I did personally call him, spoke with him and we discussed the possibility of him facing Manny."
Broner, who holds a 31-2 record with 23 knockout victories, is coming off 12th-round knockout win against Khabib Allakhverdiev. He is reportedly looking to defend his world title against Ashley Theophane in February, but could change his plans if Pacquiao will pick him for his next fight.
Aside from Broner, Pacquiao and his camp are also considering facing reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Timothy Bradley for the third time.
Pacquiao took a controversial split decision loss to Bradley during their first fight in June 2012. But during their rematch in April 2014, the Filipino boxing icon avenged the loss with a masterful unanimous decision victory. Former world champion Amir Khan and undefeated WBO super lightweight champion Terence Crawford are reportedly on the list of Pacquiao's possible foes.
Pacquiao, who has not fought since losing to Mayweather in May after undergoing shoulder surgery, was supposed to name his opponent earlier this month but decided to postpone the announcement.
Koncz said that they are not in a rush, but he confirmed to Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum that Pacquiao will definitely fight on April 9 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"We're definitely going to fight on April 9th and more likely than not it will be at the new MGM Grand arena," Koncz said. "I already told Bob we'll definitely keep the date, the pay-per-view date because Manny approved that this past week and I told Bob that in a text message. Now we just got to work out the details of the final opponent."
