Catch Weight Title fights

Just had a thought reading another thread. I really don't like catch weight fights and I think it makes a fighter look like a fruit cup, even though it's their team that gets it in the contract, for demanding them. Hats off to Gabe Rosado for making his promoter take the CW out of his title shot contract with GGG I think it was. He should get way more credit for that. Now that is a fighter right there. Title fights should not be allowed with CW's unless they're being contested between reigning champions from different divisions....like maybe a 154 pounder vs a 147'er with at 150 with the 154 belt on the line. That's still probably crap, but it would be a little easier to stomach. Cotto and team making the 159 was beyond stupid and should never have been for a title along with lots of Floyd and Manny fights. Boxing needs some stricter rules like this and maybe one ring size, a boxer can use any gloves that are approved, the same drug testing for every fight....it's just disgusting how 99% of the top fighters use these things to have some sort of advantage over their opponents. I just don't know how you can have a fighters mentality and let your opponent be disadvantaged in any of these ways. Gabe Rosado may not be the best, but he's at least he's an actual fighter.

Comments (20)

El_Feroz82

You cum catching pacf@g.......didn't pacquiao fight dlh at the full 147 mark before his cw fight with cotto? I think it's pretty clear Pac and Floyd are both guilty

11y ago

Xi_

All these comments are just so misinformed it's ridiculous. The great Armstrong fought in cw fights, probably the most famous multiweight fighter ever. I see no harm in a smaller fighter moving up in weight and having a cw challenging a bigger champ, eg pac v cotto or srl v lalonde but there's a difference when a guy who is already a champion in a division fighting another champion in that division for a cw. You cum catching pacf@g.......didn't pacquiao fight dlh at the full 147 mark before his cw fight with cotto?

11y ago

El_Feroz82

Some good points, like someone else said the system is just too open for abuse. I wouldn't have a problem with a non-title CW fight between say a MW and a LHW just to make a big fight, that's not so bad. That's just meeting in the middle between to different sized guys. But draining guys in your own division should not be tolerated and makes you look like a pu$$ There is just too much the A-side can demand and it will never change, ***** it's only going to get worse actually. It just cheapens the sport and the legacies of the fighters involved. Lets take the recent example of the Maidana glove debacle...I'm not trying to single out Floyd because Manny and other aren't innocent either. Hypotheticaly you are having a boxing party and get some of your friends to come over who aren't that into boxing. The damn fight all of a sudden might not happen because of comission approved gloves that Floyd doesn't like. A friend asks why would this happen if the gloves are legit??? I guess I respond that they are punchers gloves and Maidana is a puncher, so.....they say that's stupid the Yankees don't tell other teams what bats to use.....I just shake my head. This A-side stuff is out of control and getting worse.

11y ago

Scott9945

I've always felt that if you want to call yourself the middleweight champion you should be willing to fight opponents who can make 160. That applies to every division. But that's just me.

11y ago

boliodogs

They should not be allowed under any circumstances. If both fighters can't come in at the top weight what is the point of having a champion of that weight class. I have no problem at all with catchweight fights as long as no world title is at stake. Mayweather just defended both of his 154 pound world titles against welterweight Maidana at a top weight allowed at the weigh in of 147. What a fucing joke. That is a welterweight fight and has nothing to do with the 154 pound world titles. All world title fights should be at the full standard weight and not a pound less. Anything else is wrong whether the fighter is a favorite of mine or not. If a fighter chooses to weigh in way under the limit that is fine as long as he is allowed to weigh in at the class limit.

11y ago

Bigg_Rigg

A title fight should never be allowed at a catch weight. If a fighter wants to show up light, then its cool. But if you are fighting for a title the weight limit should be the same weight that other previous champions won at and not below. Or else its just a tainted championship. WBC won't give two sh1ts aslong as they get their sanctioning fee. I remember the WBO was going to strip Cotto if he didn't defend his title vs PAC at 145. Why?? Cuz they wanted their cut. They could careless about history or tradition. Boxing is an all around mess. Greedy, cherry picking fighters. Freddy sanctioning bodies. Greedy promoters.

11y ago

Dinamita_03

imagine a lightweight moving up to fight the welterweight champion of the world, if the fight was held at 140, it would be within the light welterweight division...do you understand now? extra divisions does not equate to "no catchweights". simple as that. you're clutching at straws and making yourself look stupid ever since i mentioned armstrong. Well you mentioned Armstrong in your very first post how could I possibly make myself look stupid before that? Anyway I didn't say more weight classes meant no cw fights, I simply stated that it reduced the need of cw's in most cases by setting up a new division in between the ones that were already in place. In your scenario the fight at 140 would take place in an entirely new division in present time as opposed to a cw in Armstrongs time. Excuse my ignorance but didn't your example just prove how adding a division in-between lightweight and welterweight prevented the need for a cw to be agreed upon?

11y ago

soul_survivor

Having a weight class in between each original weight cut the size differential in half. How would that not make a difference when moving up one weight class in Armstrongs time meant giving up 9,12, or even 13 lbs as opposed to 4,5,7 lbs in present time. imagine a lightweight moving up to fight the welterweight champion of the world, if the fight was held at 140, it would be within the light welterweight division...do you understand now? extra divisions does not equate to "no catchweights". simple as that. you're clutching at straws and making yourself look stupid ever since i mentioned armstrong.

11y ago

Dinamita_03

that doesnt make a difference, the principle is the same, to put guys on an equal footing when there may be a large weight differential. Having a weight class in between each original weight cut the size differential in half. How would that not make a difference when moving up one weight class in Armstrongs time meant giving up 9,12, or even 13 lbs as opposed to 4,5,7 lbs in present time.

11y ago

soul_survivor

What do any of the posts have to do with being misinformed? Everybody is aware that CW's are not a modern phenomenon. Does that preclude us from opining? Also, as Dinamita stated, things have changed considerably since the days of Armstrong. read my previous post. and the posts are mostly saying CWs are a sham yet I bet none of you would take away from Armstrong's achievements... A catchweight fight isn't necessarily a sham, they can of course be legitimate. But the system is too open to abuse. Today a CW is as likely to be used for weakening a 'B-Side' fighter as it is for making some dream fight possible. The system is open to abuse, as I clearly stated, I'll be more obvious, with the ridiculous "unification" between Myaweather and Canelo.

11y ago

soul_survivor

Your talking about a guy who fought at a time when there was only eight weight classes. Not like today when there's a weight class in between each original one. It's more understandable that fighters in the past had cw fights with fewer divisions and weigh-ins on the same day. that doesnt make a difference, the principle is the same, to put guys on an equal footing when there may be a large weight differential.

11y ago

Dr_Rumack

All these comments are just so misinformed it's ridiculous. The great Armstrong fought in cw fights, probably the most famous multiweight fighter ever. I see no harm in a smaller fighter moving up in weight and having a cw challenging a bigger champ, eg pac v cotto or srl v lalonde but there's a difference when a guy who is already a champion in a division fighting another champion in that division for a cw. A catchweight fight isn't necessarily a sham, they can of course be legitimate. But the system is too open to abuse. Today a CW is as likely to be used for weakening a 'B-Side' fighter as it is for making some dream fight possible.

11y ago

racer59

All these comments are just so misinformed it's ridiculous. The great Armstrong fought in cw fights, probably the most famous multiweight fighter ever. I see no harm in a smaller fighter moving up in weight and having a cw challenging a bigger champ, eg pac v cotto or srl v lalonde but there's a difference when a guy who is already a champion in a division fighting another champion in that division for a cw. What do any of the posts have to do with being misinformed? Everybody is aware that CW's are not a modern phenomenon. Does that preclude us from opining? Also, as Dinamita stated, things have changed considerably since the days of Armstrong.

11y ago

Black_Barty

imo it depends on the situation. for pac vs algieri, the CW isn't really a big deal since algieri is more than big enough to make the 144 lb limit and pac is small enough that he can drain himself down without issue. only times when it's an issue is when you set up a CW fight to bring up a small fighter and come weigh-in you don't honor the CW or if you're a champ in a division (fought two champion fights there without a CW) and you demand a champion in that same division to fight you at a catchweight. Also dragging someone down 7 or 8 lbs is also bad. but if you're a small fighter moving up in weight then a CW seems fine imo. it's not a big deal. Everyone knows who you are talking about so you might as well just say the name. And honestly, I don't think the Floyd vs Canelo CW was any worse or more unfair than the Manny vs Cotto CW.

11y ago

Adamjr91

Yup, forgot to mention that showing up light is perfectly fine. Pretty much everything should be standardized in boxing taking this pu$$y negotiating tactics out of fights. That doesn't need mentioning. CW fights in this day an age are farcical given the amount of weight division there are.

11y ago

Dinamita_03

All these comments are just so misinformed it's ridiculous. The great Armstrong fought in cw fights, probably the most famous multiweight fighter ever. I see no harm in a smaller fighter moving up in weight and having a cw challenging a bigger champ, eg pac v cotto or srl v lalonde but there's a difference when a guy who is already a champion in a division fighting another champion in that division for a cw. Your talking about a guy who fought at a time when there was only eight weight classes. Not like today when there's a weight class in between each original one. It's more understandable that fighters in the past had cw fights with fewer divisions and weigh-ins on the same day.

11y ago

soul_survivor

11y ago

El_Feroz82

imo it depends on the situation. for pac vs algieri, the CW isn't really a big deal since algieri is more than big enough to make the 144 lb limit and pac is small enough that he can drain himself down without issue. only times when it's an issue is when you set up a CW fight to bring up a small fighter and come weigh-in you don't honor the CW or if you're a champ in a division (fought two champion fights there without a CW) and you demand a champion in that same division to fight you at a catchweight. Also dragging someone down 7 or 8 lbs is also bad. but if you're a small fighter moving up in weight then a CW seems fine imo. it's not a big deal. I think the CW was probably more for Pac's sake than Chris's.....and if it wasn't a big deal than why is it there....it's becoming a normal thing for big name guys and it's cowardly IMO

11y ago

El_Feroz82

There's no central authority to dictate any of the things you're asking for. As for CWs and titles, the only guys who fight at CWs for the most part are the big names. And the organising bodies want to get paid so they'll always play along with the guys who bring significant money in. If any of them make a principled stance and refuse to sanction a bout, someone else will only be too happy to take their business. Sadly you are totally right. Pure fantasy on my part I know, I just don't think you should be regarded as having a fighters mentality if you demand, or allow your team to demand these things.

11y ago

El_Feroz82

A title fight should never be allowed at a catch weight. If a fighter wants to show up light, then its cool. But if you are fighting for a title the weight limit should be the same weight that other previous champions won at and not below. Or else its just a tainted championship. Yup, forgot to mention that showing up light is perfectly fine. Pretty much everything should be standardized in boxing taking this pu$$y negotiating tactics out of fights.

11y ago