Cotto Says Nothing Was Said About His WBO Title Being On the Line – News
August 6th, 2009
By Manuel Perez: In article from El Nuevo Dia, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto said that nothing was ever mentioned about him having his WBO title on the line when he agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao. Cotto’s father said “This guy [the WBO president] is going to try to pimp his money anyway he can. You will see. He will find someone to give him $150,000 [for the sanctioning fee for the fight], but it won’t be us.”
Cotto doesn’t want to pay the sanctioning fee, because he never agreed to have his title on the line in the first place given that the bout was at a 145 pound catch weight rather than at the full 147 pound weight limit for the welterweight division. It was after he had agreed with Pacquiao to make the fight that the WBO suddenly said that the fight would be for the WBO title.
Cotto has no problem having the title on the line, just as long as Pacquiao fights at the full 147 pound limit and not at 145. Cotto also takes issue with having to pay the WBO a sanctioning fee, regardless of whether his WBO title will be on the line for the November 14th fight.
Cotto is ready to give up his WBO title to the president of the WBO, Francisco Valcarcel, if he has to, saying to El Nuevo “If he requires me to, I will gladly give him a letter of resignation. I do not have a problem with that. But in the rough draft of the contracts, the fight [Pacquiao-Cotto] was not for the title.”
It looks as if Cotto need not worry about who will pay the sanctioning fee for Cotto. Obviously, Arum realizes his chance for making a huge amount of money is worth paying out this relatively small fee.
Well, if Arum is willing to pay the sanctioning fee then that should take care of that part of the problem. However, I can see how Cotto still wouldn’t want to put his title on the line if it’s less than the full 147 pound limit, especially if nothing was ever said about it being on the line in the first place. That seems wrong. How can a title still be on the line when it’s not at the full weight? That’s like having a super bowl with only three quarters instead of four.
In this case, Pacquiao is the smaller fighter and would be benefited by having the bout take place at the lighter weight of 145 pounds, whereas Cotto will be hurt because he has to drop another two pounds. Cotto already has enough problems trying to make the 147 pound limit as it is, and now he’d have to come in even lower at 145, yet still have his title on the line.
It wouldn’t really matter much except that Pacquiao really wants a chance at winning a 7th world title. This will give Pacquiao a chance and there wouldn’t be an asterisk next to his accomplishment, even though I think there should be if he was to win the fight so that people would know that the bout had a handicap in place for Pacquiao.
This is why Pacquiao needs to forget about this catch weight nonsense. If he needs a handicap to beat a fighter like Cotto, then he doesn’t have any business trying to fight welterweight champion like Cotto. I see a catch weight as a handicap for Pacquiao. This is silly. Here, I’ll go fight Nikolay Valuev, but he has to melt down to 190, and yet still have his title on the line. It’s ridiculous. Cotto is only allowed to come in at the maximum of 145 pounds, yet he still has to have his WBO welterweight title on the line?
If Cotto never discussed with Pacquiao having his title on the line for the fight, then Pacquiao needs to forget about it and try to find someone else to get a title off of. He’s got time, he can always go hunt down Edwin Valero or one of the other lightweight fighters to get his precious 7th world title. But I don’t that it will be happening against Cotto unless Miguel gives up the title or is stripped. In that case, Pacquiao would be fighting for a vacant belt and that would be bittersweet. If I was Cotto, I’d give up the title and let Pacquiao fight for the vacant title. I can’t see Pacquiao winning anyway. I would then go after one of the other welterweight titles, like the WBC.
Tags: 42 Responses to “Cotto Says Nothing Was Said About His WBO Title Being On the Line – News”
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i dont see the issue, Cotto comes in at 147 and if pacman wants to give away a couple of pounds then so be it.
Its a welterweight fight for a welterweight belt so as long as non of them are over 147 then get it on. Pacman can come in at 130 if he wants,who cares.
its the insistance of 145 for Cotto by Pacman that myths me
next Manny will want to fight Vlad Klitscko for the heavyweight title as long as Vlad can get down to 145…its a joke
i dont like catchweights in general if you wana fight a welter then fight him, or else fight some1 else. but i also dont like this whole weighing in the day before, fighters like cotto,clottey get a huge advantage come fight night because they weigh at least 10 pounds more, that is what is unfair, y can a welterweight come into a fight being a middleweight?doesnt make much sense
both of these fighters should man up. if pacman wants a fight for a title then he shouldnt have problems with cotto coming in at any weight within the welterweight limit. but if cotto is so confident in beating pacman then it shouldnt make a difference if the title is on the line he should either just accept it or otherwise move on to another fight.
Cotto is willing to fight Manny at 145 and now they want Cotto to put his title on the line, man you all crazy. If Manny wants another Title fight Cotto at 147, for the Title to get the Title. Welterweight is 147 not catch weight. Not even 145, Manny if you want the title move-up 2 lbs. and the fight is on for the Title. But if they fight at 145 then Cotto shouldn’t have to put his Title on the line, boxing fans. If Manny wants another Title like that Edwin Valero or Tim Bradley would love to go head to head with Manny at 140. If you ask me Freddie Roach is a real clown because he thinks Manny is going to beat Cotto at the Catchweight thats crazy and you want this man to put has title on the line. Thats no fair, Cotto won the belt at 147 so the Title belt need to be fought at 147 for the Title. If not Cotto should give up the title and Let Manny fight for a Vacate title. Cotto still gets the bout with Manny and go after Andre Berto for the WBC Title. Great thinking from the Professor out.
Everybody is having a problem at 145lbs maybe its time to create a new division Medium Welterweight 145lbs.
hows that sound?
Manny simply cannot fight at WW without restrictions being imposed on his opponents. There’s no shame in that considering he started at 106lbs.
Manny and his camp are trying to restrict a fighter and take away one of his basic rights to weigh in at what he desires, so long as it’s within the WW bracket IMO that’s wrong. It’s a cunning bit of gamesmanship to try and get the mental/physical edge on the night.
I can understand some of the anger coming from Pac fans, they want to see him create history, I want to see him create history, but I want to see him do it fairly and transparentlly. If he simply cannot fight at WW without taking away his opponents rights by placing restrictions on them, then he should not be fighting at WW.
Catch-weight fight or a World Title fight, the option has been offered by Cotto. Yes World titles have been fought at catch-weights before, but the champion agreed to it….Cotto has not, and he’s simply exercising one of his rights, possible the only one he has left, but soon to be most likely taken away by lawyers in court!
This fight was meant to be good for boxing! IMO it is now turning into a dark seedy affair, which I think is damaging the image of the sport.
Manny fans are a joke, he’s no where near Mayweather’s level. He should have lost twice 2 JMM, beat a shot De La Hoya, and an off peak Ricky Hatton and now he wants Cotto at 145 for the title as well as having the fight in Vegas and having 65-35 split…its a joke, he’s a joke, I have lost all respect for him. He’s going 2 get the shock of his life on Nov 14th trust me. Cotto vs Mayweather 2010.
i feal u cotto but just put the belt up and kick tong po’s *ss, dont get me wrong i like pacman but i like cotto better!!!
this is becoming a joke,(catchweight champ of the world)lol,why doesnt manny stop acting like a little girl and fight cotto at WELTERWEIGHT,if he wants the belt,farce,
Manny is UNTOUCHABLE!
If the WBO make Cotto fight 145 and put the title on the line. When Cotto beats Pac, I would love to see Cotto giving up his WBO title so WBO wont enjoy Cotto’s next fights since he will be the hottest fighter and a fight with maywether will be bigger than a fight with Pac.
Well, Let see if Manny beats Cotto at 145 and wins the title that means that every welterweight that wants to fight Manny needs to go down to 145. That to me doesnt make sense. Now Cotto wants to fight Manny at 145 so means that he agree to Pac’s demands or (advantages) also agree to get less money (wich is ok Pac is the hot fighter right now)and the fight is in las vegas not in New York like Cotto would love to be. So that is 3 demans or advantage towards Manny. Now the mistake was made by Team Pac that made the deal with out title. Now they want title well Cotto is asking for one demand 147. You people tell me Can Manny accept at least one demad from Cotto and fight at 147. if he is so great he shouldnt have any problem beating Cotto.
cottos gonna kill manny
coto, manuel & liam… losers, losers, losers… puro daldal, kulang sa gawa (very talkative, no action). what a pity… =(
2-1 in favor of pacquiao… poor coto… nobody seems to favor him… 145 or 147 pacquiao will surely knockdown coto… a stretcher must be prepared for coto with manuel & liam… LOSERS!!! no more excuses LOSERS… enough dadadada… let’s fight, you white eggs… chicken… nyehehehe.
lol Wonder why Paquia wants the fight to be at 145 i mean didnt he fight Oscar at 147 no problem at all now for some reason he wants Cotto to come down to 145… why is that is he scared or something i mean there has to be a reason for it. Another thing if i’m Cotto i’ll put that WBO title on the line for the fight then after i win i would go to the nearest garbage can and dump the damm thing yup thats exactly what i would do win the fight then trash the thing….
Manny said in the ring, after he beat Diaz at lightweight, that he draws the line at Cotto. Why does he now feel Cotto is there for the taking? If its cuz of his 2 defeats of ODLH and Hatton then hes in for a very rude awakening..Miguel Cotto will not be weight drained and is not shot.
I love ya Manny but this is a step too far
As usual this article does not tell the true picture. Cotto at 145 is only a pound lighter than his fighting weight. Pacquiao on the other hand is going up 5 pounds or more over his fighting weight. In reality Pacquiao is at more disadvantage position. Bottom line is if both boxers agree to fight at 145 then there shouldn’t be any discussion regarding who’s man enough.
anyone who knows about boxing knows that you fight at the weight limit. if you cant make the weight than you have no business fighting in that division. so people, back up Cotto here. its the Pacquiao camp who are bringing all these excuses to try to derail the fight because Pacquiao now knows that he has only three months before he will get the beating of his entire life. never again will Pacquiao be beaten the way Cotto is going to whip that phillippino boy up…. Miguel Cotto by KO in 7.
All Cotto has to do is walk away — done — end of discussion. Obviously he wants the big money or else this fight will not take place. Now, lets get the concessions straighten out — that’s all.
people all of this is all going to be academical. you all know why? Because Miguel Cotto is going to knock out Manny Pacquiao. everyone has sooped up Pacquiao and now he thinks he is a God. well in the Phillippines they think he is a God. guess what? Manny is going to get knocked out and it may be ugly cold.
I admire Pacquiao for fighting the best names in boxing, especially Cotto. But asking for his belt to be put on the line at 2lbs under the 147 limit is a cheap shot. As for the WBO, they suck!
What’s the point of fighting if there’s no title on the line? As for the catch weight, who cares? Twenty-eight hours is sufficient enough to regain the lost weight.
man,manny fans are like a bunch of infantile retards.
exactly,this is a joke.
I’m a fan of Pacquiao but and I don’t mind a catchweight fight if it’s not for a belt. I imagined the purpose of a catchweight fight is to have two competitors from DIFFERENT weight divisions meeting in the MIDDLE so they can see who is better not who owns a belt since the weight agreed upon is NOT within a normal weight division. If the fight goes on at 145 let the title of P4P be at stake, if the fight is at 147 let the WBO belt be at stake and for Manny Pacquiao a real entrance into the status of legend for having attained 7 titles in 7 divisions.
I don’t mind if you knock on Manny for wanting a title at a weight that doesnt’ have a division but don’t knock on him for wanting to fight at a catchweight.
cause manny is a greedy f….r who thinks he is the be all and end all of boxing!!
the thing is, cotto hasnt looked anywhere near as sharp since his loss to margarito,hence why manny accepted to fight him rather than SSM.i hope cotto does knock the crap out of him though and frankly,manny has become worse than mayweather in terms of ducking opponents and making obscene demands.
If Pacquiao wants to fight for the title, why not take s 30% cut of the revenue that is traditionally given to challengers? Seems fair doesn’t it?
cotto isnt scered of fightig manny at that weight1 its the issue of the belt! u wanna b welterweight world champ u fight at welterweight/ its that simple man!!!!!!!!!!
Cotto should be Man enough too to tell Pacquiao, no Fight if it’s not 147lbs.
Cotto can fight someone else.
It shows Cotto is afraid to fight PACMAN at 145 he knows that he is in the deep water. I don’t think putting his title belt is big issue here if he really has some balls. He just reason out the belt as an excuse not to fight Pacquiao. Also I’m sure Dela Hoya has something to do with it whispered that don’t let him fight you at the catchweight to get the advangtage so that he could force to fight Mosley, it means another big payday to the golden boy promotion. I’m sure Cotto has the humungous advantage at 145 it wouldn’t drain nor weak him. They only want to make sure a solid victory if their camp fighting Pacquiao at 147 limit especially when they already knew the oddmakers 2-1 in favor for Pacquiao which put them into the huge uncertainty because once they made mistake for the calculation it’s gonna be the end of Cotto’s career. It’s very obvious a tactical mind game from the Cotto camp to fall pacquiao to their trap.
OFFICIAL WEIGHT-IN
Pacquiao- 143
Cotto- 145
UNOFFICIAL WEIGHT-IN
Pacquiao- 148
Cotto- 160
who cares, the WBO is a mickey mouse title anyway.
And for the record, as good as Manny is, he’s beat a poor David Diaz at lightweight, a weight drained ODLH at welter and a shot Hatton at light welter, Cotto takes him to the school of hard knocks and KOs Manny in 5.
u got a point oli! it should not happen! we be avin world catchweight titles b4 long lol!!!!!!
The WBO needs to be carful what they are doing here. Allowing the title to b on the line at 145 will be opening the flood gates for crap like this in other divisions and other belts. It shouldnt be allowed it has never happened before so why now?
pacman is a joke, he wants to win all these different titles at different weights and hes done it so far, now his next challenge is to win it at welter, but 145 isnt welter, so that means hes gone as far as he can go. either fight at the real weight or dnt do it at all. if this goes ahead then a lot of people will be furious, what annoys me even more is the casual boxing fan wont even realise all these advantages pacman is going to get and hell get all the plaudits again if he wins. I WOULD LOVE IT IF COTTO WON
Here here planky i used to like Pacquiao and although its probably not his fault in the main and more to do with Bob Arum we need someone to khtfo and stop this bandwagon and get it on with real welterweight fights Cotto v Mayweather then let Juan Manuel Marquez have his rematch with Manny also and get the right result this time around.
Come on Cotto spark him!
surely even if manny came in at 141 and cotto at 147 this is still a welterweight world title fight??
145 is absolutely rediculous request from manny if he wants the title he should fight for the welterweight title within the welterweight limits this is becoming a farce!
Im with cotto 100% on this. The WBO are an absolute disgrace if they force this through. Changing the rules just to suit pacquiao and themselves, its a total farce. You CANNOT have a welterweight world title fight and then force the champion to come in at 145 because it suits you better.
“I can’t see Pacquiao winning anyway” Then why are you so mad? you said manny dont have a chance even at 145. Then let it be for the title moron!!! Cotto picked 145 and afraid to put his title on the line. I remember cotto saying that the welterweight division is being invaded by featherweights, And criticizing delahoya for fighting manny b’coz manny is too small. Now he wants that small dude to fight him at welterweight. It’s obvious cotto is afraid of that small dude manny that’s why he needs all the advantages he can get. Cotto is acting like he is the draw. Dont you have any other job Mr. Perez? Coz you suck at writing!!! All you do is hate, And you’re not even good doing it. Why dont you just lick cotto’s balls until they are dry. LOL!
if cotto’s title is on the line at 145 it just proves to us that the politics in boxing are ruining the sport!! if pac man wants the belt it must be at 147! if it is on the line at 145 and pac man wins will he be crowned WBO catchweight champion of the world??