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.