Pacquiao-Cotto Being Pushed By WBO as Title Bout

[Dave Rado]

Since some of you are worried about the weight issue of WW, then Cotto did not fight as a WW agasint Clottey cuz he(Miguel) only weigh in at 147 pounds. 1 pound below a147.

He wasn't set a maximum limit of 146, he was set a maximum limit of 147. The rule is that to be a welterweight fight, the maximum weight is 147, not 146 and not 145. Any contractually specified maximum below that makes it a catchweight fight. This has been covered over and over again in this thread.

[Dave Rado]

competitive? sure. but he ain't a WW. you need to get that in your brain.

You need to read my posts properly - I said he's a natural Jnr Welterweight, who I believe would be competitive at Welterweight, and might even win; and that if he wants to call himself the world champion at Welterweight (which is what you are doing in effect when you fight for a world title), he shouldn't need or even want to specify a catchweight. Most of his fans in these forums, unlike you, do think he's fighting for his legacy, not just for money, and most of them have said that they do wish he would fight under the normal maximum weight rules, instead of at catchweight, for the sake of his legacy. You can disagree, but there's no need to be patronising.

[theAleph]

You need to read my posts properly - I said he's a natural Jnr Welterweight, who I belive could be competitive at Welterweight; and that if he wants to call himself the world champion at Welterweight (which is what you are doing in effect when you fight for a world title), he shouldn't need or even want to specify a catchweight. Most of his fans in these forums, unlike you, do think he's fighting for his legacy, not just for money, and most of them do wish he would fight under the normal maximum weight rules, instead of at catchweight, for the sake of his legacy. You can disagree, but there's no need to be patronising.

Anyone who wants to be called the welterweight king needs to come into the fight as A welterweight. NOT a middleweight, you know, so the claim is more credible.

[loui_ludwig]

He wasn't set a maximum limit of 146, he was set a maximum limit of 147. The rule is that to be a welterweight fight, the maximum weight is 147, not 146 and not 145. Any contractually specified maximum below that makes it a catchweight fight. This has been covered over and over again in this thread.

I understand what your saying but if Cotto signs the contract, he is agreeing to fight Pac at 145. So he is not being force to fight at 145. If the governing bodies of the ABC titles is sanctioning, even if it is a catchweight fight, then it is a WW fight for the WW title.

If Cotto is being force to fight at 145, then he should decide not to fight Pac at all.

Plus how do we know that Cotto will exactly weigh in at 147 during the official weigh in? He might even show up at 144 during the weigh in just to show how easily he can make weight. What we need to worry is Cotto does not do a Dela Hoya.

[Dave Rado]

I understand what your saying but if Cotto signs the contract, he is agreeing to fight Pac at 145. So he is not being force to fight at 145. If the governing bodies of the ABC titles is sanctioning, even if it is a catchweight fight, then it is a WW fight for the WW title.

If Cotto is being force to fight at 145, then he should decide not to fight Pac at all.

Plus how do we know that Cotto will exactly weigh in at 147 during the official weigh in? He might even show up at 144 during the weigh in just to show how easily he can make weight. What we need to worry is Cotto does not do a Dela Hoya.

If Cotto signs then he can't make any excuses if he loses, and Pac deserves full credit if he wins. That's a separate issue to whether it's right for catchweight fights to be for world titles though. Chavez's win over Sweat Pea will always have an asterisk over it partly because many people suspect that Whitaker was in fact weight drained. That's not an excuse for Whitaker, but it does mean that it was less of a legacy fight for Chavez than it could and should have been. Same applies here.

[Dave Rado]

Anyone who wants to be called the welterweight king needs to come into the fight as A welterweight. NOT a middleweight, you know, so the claim is more credible.

It's a good point, but you're really arguing for a return to same day weigh-ins for all fights and not just this one. That's opens a whole can of worms and is a subject for a separate thread, not this one.

[versatech]

All this **** just to discredit PAC if he ever wins WTF!!! so lame guys!!!

[versatech]

Roach wants 142-143
Cotto like 145
Cotto wins, fight will be at 145
So what's the buzz is all about!!!

[theAleph]

It's a good point, but you're really arguing for a return to same day weigh-ins for all fights and not just this one. That's opens a whole can of worms and is a subject for a separate thread, not this one.

So really there are no hard and fast rules about this weight issue right. It wasn't too long ago that fighters weighed in on the same day and came into the fight looking more or less like, um, welters. Now, we have fighters coming in as middleweight in an attempt to game the system.

So, really if we're going into attempt to be strict about the 147 lb. limit, let's just make sure that welters come in as welters. I'm sure Manny won't be reluctant at all to fight Miguel at the 147 lb limit, which, as you have patiently argued, is the true limit for welters.

Otherwise, again using your own reasoning, don't you think Miguel should give up his 147 strap if he can't make 147 on fight night? You know, if we're going to be strict about it.

[Dave Rado]

So really there are no hard and fast rules about this weight issue right. It wasn't too long ago that fighters weighed in on the same day and came into the fight looking more or less like, um, welters. Now, we have fighters coming in as middleweight in an attempt to game the system.

There are hard and fast rules, which were changed many years ago (in the early 1980s, I believe), for the sake of the health of the boxers. The current rules are "All Boxers must weigh-in not less than 24 hours or more than 36 hours before the commencement of a tournament." In the past the weigh in took place on the same day, and it was thought that this contributed to many injuries and some deaths, which was why the rule was changed. Whether they were right to change it or not is still controversial, though, but that's a subject for a separate thread.