By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Freddie Roach expects his fighter Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31 KO’s) to come in around 155 lbs for his June 7th catch-weight clash against WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KO’s) in New York. The fight negotiations are still underway at this time, but they’re reportedly close to having it completed.
Cotto and Martinez will be fighting at a catch-weight of 159 lbs rather than the full limit of 160 lbs for the division. One pound shouldn’t make that much of a difference for this fight, but it’s likely that Cotto’s camp felt that it would give them an edge because Sergio might come in a little drained from trying to make weight. There’s no word yet whether there will be a weight penalty for this fight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is. That would be a classic move having that as part of the contract. It should be enough that Martinez will lose his title on the scales if he fails to make weight without the need for a weight penalty.
“My guy [Cotto] is going to come in the ring about 154, 155, that’s his best fighting weight,” Roach said to the sweetscience. “Weight doesn’t win fights, boxing ability does. Sergio is actually a small guy himself, he’s always said he’s a welterweight.”
If weights don’t win fights then why does Roach’s fighter need a catch-weight for this fight? Is there some worry on Cotto’s part in fighting Sergio at the full weight for the division? The thing is Cotto is moving up to the middleweight division because he wants the opportunity to try and win a 4th division world title. He could have fought Saul “Canelo” Alvarez next and made a lot more money than he would for the Sergio fight, but he chose to take this fight so that he can win another division world title. But if Cotto needs to get a handicap to win another title, then it kind of cheapens the victory.
Could you imagine this being done in football or basketball in order to make it easier for a team to win? It’s bad enough that Cotto is picking out the oldest of the middleweight champions in Sergio Martinez instead of the guy who is considered to be the best champion in the division in Gennady Golovkin. Sergio hasn’t fought in the past 10 months and by the time he faces Cotto next June, he’ll have been out of the ring for 14 months due to injuries. With that much time off and with Sergio turning 39 on February 21st, why does Cotto need a catch-weight handicap for this fight?
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