The 145 pound catch weight number was insisted on by Pacquiao and his team in an effort to give Pacquiao a handicap in the fight. Since it will probably be difficult for Cotto to take off the extra weight to make the 145 pound catch weight, something which will very likely leave him weaker for having done it, he didn’t want to put his title on the line.
Pacquiao and Roach want the title on the line so that Pacquiao can try win his 7th world title in seven different weight classes. Although you would think that having a world title fight at 145 would be bending the rules a little, the WBO apparently doesn’t care and is more than willing to have Pacquiao fight for the title regardless of whether it’s under the normal welterweight limit of 147.
Cotto, obviously, isn’t happy about it but it appears he has no choice in the matter. Cotto has been saying that he’ll vacate his WBO title if they force him to fight for the title at the lower weight of 145 instead of 147. But, even if Cotto does vacate the title, it appears that the WBO will then immediately make the number #1 challenger and thereby have the title on the line anyway.
So even if Cotto gives up his belt or is stripped of his title, the title will still be on the line for the fight despite the bout being held at a catch weight below the normal welterweight upper limit of 147. Now, it looks like Cotto will have to decide whether he wants to fight under those conditions. This was supposed to be a voluntary defense but it looks as if Cotto will end up without his title if he decides to walk away from the fight. If you ask me, this sounds pretty crummy.
It looks like Cotto is being railroaded into putting his title on the line with a handicap for Pacquiao and will be forced to fight giving an advantage to the Filipino fighter. Pacquiao has used the catch weight in the past to beat an old, shot Oscar De La Hoya.
The catch weight left De La Hoya weak and drained. Now it looks like it’s Cotto’s turn to be the weight drained fighter with his title on line no matter what he does. Of course, Cotto doesn’t have to take the fight and can walk away. He might want to do this if this is what the situation is going to be, but he won’t have his title because the WBO will strip him unless he fights Pacquiao.
It looks like the WBO really wants Pacquiao to fight for the title for some reason. I wonder why? I hate to see how this fight will end up being scored if it goes to a decision. Unless I miss my guess, Pacquiao just as he did in his second fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in controversial fashion.
Cotto might as well just hand his title to Pacquiao and walk away. I can’t see Cotto winning the fight unless he knocks Pacquiao out. So in the end, Cotto has to take the much smaller revenue cut and then fight with his title on the line at a catch weight of 145 instead of the normal weight. If Cotto says he doesn’t want to put his title on the line, too bad.
The WBO will be putting it on the line anyway. If Cotto walks away from the fight, the WBO will strip him of his title. Wow, that sounds like a no win situation for Cotto. Pacquiao shouldn’t have stopped there. He should have insisted on being allowed to fight with elevator shoes on so that he’d be taller for the fight. If Cotto didn’t accept the terms, then too bad.
Either fight under those conditions or give up your title so that Pacquiao can win his precious 7th world title and build on his so called legacy. What a joke. Even if Pacquiao does win this fight, which I doubt he will unless it goes to a decision, I personally won’t recognize the victory. This isn’t fair. Pacquiao should be fighting at the full 147 pound limit instead of having an acception made especially for him.
Sadly, this isn’t what I thought I’d ever see from a so called pound for pound fighter.
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