By Dave Lahr: I’m still hoping that the mega bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao can still be made, but I’m not holding my breath on that happening. It’s looking like Pacquiao will be fighting World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman instead, a move made so that Pacquiao can go for an 8th world title.

I have no doubt that negotiating for this fight will be a breeze. Foreman likely won’t make waves for fear of ruining his chances for a fight against the number #1 fighter in boxing. However, given that Foreman is a solid light middleweight and Pacquiao is probably more of a pumped up lightweight, will there be a catch weight involved in the fight? And if so, what weight will Foreman, the champion, have to come in at?

My guess is that there will be a catch weight involved in the fight, even though Foreman is the champion. Since the upper limit of the division is 154, the fight can possibly take place as low as 148 or so, meaning that Foreman would have to melt down from a high of 154 down to make the catch weight.

Ideally, it would be better if this was a fight that was free of any kind of catch weights, because Pacquiao fought his last fight against WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at a catch weight, and for Pacquiao to be going after two consecutive champions at catch weights, it makes it look somehow funny to me. Pacquiao fought Oscar De La Hoya at 147, which wasn’t a catch weight fight, but it had a draining effect on De La Hoya because he had to come down from 154, his fighting class, to make the 147 pound limit.

Of course, Pacquiao is a smaller fighter, and should be able to have a handicap to make up for his lack of size. But having a title on the line at less than the full weight limit of the class is kind of strange when you think about it.