Roach: "WBO Will Sanction Pacquiao-Cotto Regardless"

[V13J0]

If there is no problem with that small pound then why Pac don't fight at 147?...

145 is not a weight division so there is no title... if Pac want the 147 title then
fight the 147 champion... otherwise this fight is just an exhibition fight, and everybody
that respect boxing should agree on that.

[Pullcounter]

If there is no problem with that small pound then why Pac don't fight at 147?...

145 is not a weight division so there is no title... if Pac want the 147 title then
fight the 147 champion... otherwise this fight is just an exhibition fight, and everybody
that respect boxing should agree on that.

Anything between 147 lbs and 141 lbs is welterweight. That's why the wbo will probaby put the belt on the line regardless of cotto's wishes.

[ricky1978]

Wouldn't it just be sick if Cotto were to KNOCK Pacquiao the FUCK OUT!...and instead of celebrating..he just stops and stares at Freddie Roach ala' Hopkins after the Pavlik fight!...LMAO!...that would be CLASSIC!!

LOL, damn man, hell yeah that would be a classic......

[Dave Rado]

Anything between 147 lbs and 141 lbs is welterweight. That's why the wbo will probaby put the belt on the line regardless of cotto's wishes.

No - anything up to 147lb is Welterweight. There is no Welterweight range, there is only an upper limit, and that limit is 147lb, not 145lb. You can weigh anything you like at the weigh-in as long as it's no more than 147lb - Henry Armstrong only weighed 133lb when he won the Welterweight title. So there is no range.

The WBO rules state "Welter weight Up to 147 lbs". There is no mention of 141lb or of any lower limit. Only an upper limit.

If you change the upper limit then it becomes a catchweight fight.

All previous title fights that were catchweight fights, were only title fights because the defending champion agreed to put his title on the line. There have also been catchweight bouts where a title holder didn't agree to that and no title was on the line.

It would be completely unprecedented for a sanctioning body to force a champion to put his title on the line in a catchweight fight.

If Pac doesn't think he can beat the top Welterweights unless they come down below the Welterweight limit, how can he legitimately call himself the World Champion at Welterweight? That makes no sense. Cotto is right to take a stand, IMO. Just because other fighters have set a bad precedent in the past doesn't mean everyone else has to follow it.

He is just taking a stand over the principle of the integrity of titles. He has no problem with fighting at 145 in order to level the playing field. He just doesn't think the title should be on the line unless the rules regarding the maximum weight are respected - and I agree with him. The very fact that Pac's advisers feel that there is a need for the playing field to be levelled - i.e. that they think they need Cotto to come down in weight in order for Pac to be able to win - proves that Pac could not legitimately claim to be the best Welterweight in the world if he won.

[tardkiller]

No - anything up to 147lb is Welterweight. There is no Welterweight range, there is only an upper limit, and that limit is 147lb, not 145lb. You can weigh anything you like at the weigh-in as long as it's no more than 147lb - Henry Armstrong only weighed 133lb when he won the Welterweight title. So there is no range.

Is Henry Armstrong a lightweight or a welter?

[Dave Rado]

Is Henry Armstrong a lightweight or a welter?

The point is that he was in a legitimate Welterweight title fight under the rules of boxing when he fought for the title weighing only 133lb.

[tardkiller]

The point is that he was in a legitimate Welterweight title fight under the rules of boxing when he fought for the title weighing only 133lb.

The point is that you cannot call him a lightweight if he weighs more than 135 lbs.

[Dave Rado]

The point is that you cannot call him a lightweight if he weighs more than 135 lbs.

What's that got to do with anything?

[tardkiller]

What's that got to do with anything?

A fight is called a welterweight fight if it goes above 140 lbs.

[Dave Rado]

A fight is called a welterweight fight if it goes above 140 lbs.

No, a fight can be for a Welterweight title provided that neither fighter weighs more than 147lb. There is no lower limit, only an upper limit. If you bother reading the WBO's rules (which I linked to before but they are here), you will see that this is the case.

As I have already stated, Henry Armstrong only weighed 133lb when he won the Welterweight title, and he also weighed less that 140lb for many of his defences of that title. There is no minimum weight and there is no weight range, there is only an upper limit, and that upper limit is 147lb.