"If Pacquiao wants the fight to be for the title, it will have to be at 147 pounds". That was WBO welterweight titleholder Miguel Ángel Cotto’s vehement declaration when interviewed by Puerto Rican newspaper Primerahora last week. Cotto does not believe that a catch weight of 145 lbs. merit staking the title he valiantly defended against Joshua Clottey, all bloodied and bruised with a nasty gash practically the whole fight. That is his prerogative and no one can take that away from him. It may also be a concession tactic. Wisely using the title belt to boost his purse share completely mindful of how important the belt is to the whirlwind from the Philippines.
Meanwhile, there is no way in hell that Manny Pacquiao will budge and go north of 145 lbs. "We don't need the fight if the title is not on the line," so asserts Freddie Roach. A title win will give the Pac-Man a record breaking 7 titles in 7 weight classes. That will separate Manny from Oscar Dela Hoya and will move a few spots closer to Sugar Ray Robinson in the all-time greatest list. It is not ludicrous to assume that team Pacquiao will not make the date with Cotto if Cotto’s not bringing the trinket.
So what now? Top Rank’s Bob Arum is trying to work this out before the scheduled kick-off news conference on September 10 at Yankee Stadium. The only solution is to get Cotto to stake his belt. Arum, a member of the distinguished hall of fame, knew better going into the negotiations that there are historical implications if Cotto defends his title against Pacquiao yet played it down and instead declared that "nobody in the US cares about the belts". He was not mindful of Pacquiao’s legion of fans who clamored for the title supporting their idol’s quest for boxing immortality and a permanent place in the sweet science record books. Pacquiao is a definite shoo-in to the hall of fame and will most likely get every vote when his time comes. The chance to take this record-shattering recognition is arguably a step above it. This is unheard of and will take another generation to break, if that’s even possible.
So let’s work on a hypothetical. Let us say the November 14 fight is not yet signed while Cotto will stand by his pronouncement and Pacquiao eventually backs off their scrap. Who are Pacquiao’s alternatives? Who are the other title holders that can give Pacquiao a shot at the unbelievable 7 division titles?
WBA’s Sugar Shane Mosley
Financially, for Pacquiao, he is the closest to Cotto if they get the same alleged split of 65-35. For Arum, it will be far off having to share the promoter’s commission with Golden Boy.
Chances of breaking the record? Probably less than against Cotto if we base it on their last fight. Mosley convincingly punished Antonio Margarito. It can be argued that Margarito was not mentally in his game that night having been caught with elements of plaster of paris before the fight. Regardless, Sugar Shane made himself daunting to future opponents in that fight.
The pluses for Pacquiao. Barring a Richard Schaefer intervention, it will not be difficult to negotiate with Mosley who has been practically on his knees begging for a fight against the pound for pound king. To offset the potential financial setbacks when compared to arguably a more lucrative Cotto fight, Mosley might agree to a slightly modified share of the pie.
The catch weight will not be an issue either. Mosley already stated that he can go as low as 140, but of course we all know that is unreasonable. Pacquiao will not even accept having to put Mosley in such a predicament because it will also tarnish his title quest. A catch weight of 144 lbs. sounds equitable enough.
As for the trinket, it’s already a foregone conclusion that Mosley will put his belt on the line.
Among the alternative titlists, Mosley is the obvious leader and one with name recognition even to casual boxing fans.
WBC’s Andre Berto
By the time this article is published, it is possible that Berto and Mosley are off the fall and winter market. Golden Boy’s premiere negotiator and CEO, Richard Schaefer is scheduled to meet Lou DiBella in New York to work on a potential unification fight between the two 147-lb. champions.
If they finalize a deal, Cotto gets extra bargaining power on his stance. Pacquiao then has to significantly compromise just to include Cotto’s belt. Nevertheless, if Berto and Mosley do not happen, what can Berto offer to the king?
First of all, staking his green belt. Don Jose Sulaiman will be more than happy to have the WBC sanction another Pacquiao title fight. The return of the prodigal son will again be bringing considerable bounty to the coffers by the form of sanctioning fees.
Berto, even at 70-30 share will potentially get his career-high earnings. Coming out of nowhere to get a shot at Pacquiao and getting his first PPV appearance is an opportunity that is difficult to refuse. Agreeing on a catch weight will be the possible quandary in the negotiation. Berto never went below 145 lbs. in his pro career. He even went above middleweight in his pro fight and continued as a junior middleweight in at least a dozen fights.
Pacquiao’s chance against Berto is more than decent. Berto is quick and has power but he has problems against sharp shooting southpaws. He narrowly beat hard-luck Luis Collazo. It might be difficult to knock Berto down but Pacquiao can get a decision win against him.
IBF’s Isaac Hlatshwayo
Who the heck is Isaac what? Yeah, yeah. This South African titleholder is like the David Diaz of the lightweight division when Pacquiao knocked the Chicago native out last year. Hlatshwayo is the least popular champ in his weight class and the most beatable too.
If things do not really work out against Cotto, and Mosley and Berto agrees to fight then Hlatshwayo is Pacquiao’s only option to a seventh division title. This has a very diminutive chance of happening but deserves to be pointed out as Hlatshwayo still has a major sanctioning body title to brag.
Hlatshwayo last week just captured his IBF title against Delvin Rodriguez by a close split decision. If not for Rodriguez running out of gas in the second half of the fight, it would have been the Dominican getting a possible yet improbable shot to the Pacquiao sweepstakes.
So for the three major negotiating points - title, purse and catch weight. Hlatshwayo will definitely stake his title. Getting a 10% slice of the pie will still be by far his biggest earnings. Catch weight of 143 lbs will be trouble-free. His last appearance in the US, prior to last week’s fight, was against Kendall Holt at lightweight.
Pacquiao’s chances of winning? Close to a guarantee. Hlatshwayo does not have knockout power and will not be skilled and quick enough to catch Manny. Pacquiao has the potential to stop him early. Hlatshwayo’s upside is his stamina and a tough chin. If he can withstand Pacquiao’s left straight then going the distance is already a victory by itself against the pound for pound king.
Even at 90% purse share, the pound for pound king will not get his usual PPV earnings. To come close to getting decent PPV buys, this will need a strong undercard which is not really promising when reviewing Pacquiao fights of late.
By the way, to see Hlatshwayo in action, SNY will be re-airing the Hlatshwayo-Rodriguez fight but the schedule is yet to be reported.
Back to Cotto
With all three titleholders, especially Mosley and Berto, having a negotiable chance to win in this year’s last offering of the Pacquiao sweepstakes, Cotto better start softening his stance. He is jeopardizing his chance of earning the biggest payday of his life. Not mentioning the chance to beat the best fighter in the world today.
It is not just the pay, it is the opportunity to push him higher in the boxing elite ranks and potentially obtain another lucrative fight early next year against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. if he overcomes the odds against Pacquiao.
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