Freddie Roach : Pacquiao-Cotto Fight a Title Fight

A news article come from GMANews.TV saying that Coach Freddie Roach believes that Pacquiao-Cotto fight will be a title match whether Miguel Cotto likes it or not. If Cotto agrees, Pacquiao would have the chance to be the first boxer who have 7 weight titles.

The whole article can be read below.

Miguel Cotto wouldn’t want to stake his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight (147-lbs) belt against Manny Pacquiao in their November 14 showdown in Las Vegas.

But Pacquaio’s trainer Freddie Roach expressed belief the Cotto’s strap would eventually be placed on the line in the fight set at a catchweight of 145-lbs – whether the Puerto Rican fighter likes it or not.

“If (Cotto) gives it (welterweight crown) up, I think the WBO will make Manny the number one. We'll pay the sanctioning fee and the title will be on the line. That's what I think will happen," Roach said Sunday in an interview with BoxingScene.Com.

Cotto had publicly expressed his refusal to defend his title against the Filipino ring icon, saying the 145-lb catchweight is “not a category" and that if Pacquiao wanted a title fight, it had to be at the welterweight limit of 147-lbs. He even said he’s willing to give up the strap if the WBO would insist on making it a title fight.

WBO president Francisco Valcarcel himself said it could still be a WBO-sanctioned welterweight title fight, citing a similar precedent, the Oscar De La Hoya-Bernard Hopkins duel for the middleweight (160-lb) crown which was fought at 158-lbs.

Pacquiao, realizing the opportunity to win an unprecedented world title in seven divisions, had instructed his lawyer, Jeng Gacal, to coordinate with Valcarcel and promoter Bob Arum to make the necessary arrangements, including payment of the $150,000 sanction fee.

“I haven't spoken to Manny (about it) but if it was me, I would ask for the title to be on the line. I think regardless of what Cotto says, the title will be on the line," Roach said in the BoxingScene interview.

“I want it for Manny's legacy. Manny won titles at 112, 122, 126, 130, 135, and 140. I want to see him become the first fighter to win seven world titles in seven weight divisions," he added.

Pacquiao, the current International Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine light-welterweight champion, had previously owned titles at flyweight (World Boxing Council), super-bantamweight (International Boxing Federation), featherweight (Ring Magazine), super-featherweight (WBC), and lightweight (WBC).

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There's no final decision yet but stay tuned for more Pacquiao-Cotto fight news on this site.

Pacqiuao versus Cotto Won't Push Thru?

Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto fight is in jeopardy. There seems to be confusion whether it would be a title fight or not. An official announcement of Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto fight from Bob Arum, but as of the moment there's no press conference to announce the fight. What's more, it seems like the negotiation for the fight is still playing out in the media between the two camps, begging the question, "Is this fight a done deal or not?"

Read the article below from BoxingNews.com

As reported by some media outlets, the proposed mega fight between Miguel Cotto & Manny Pacquiao On November 14th might not go forward. The reason is simple, but not so simple. Manny Pacquiao is now demanding that the fight be for Miguel Cotto’s Welterweight title. Manny Pacquiao is on the verge of being the first seven time world champion in seven weight divisions and the prospect of that clearly has Freddie Roach wanting the fight for Cotto’s Title.

Cotto and I quote, states “If Pacquiao wants the fight to be for the title, it will have to be at 147 pounds… My decision is final and firm.” But Pacquiao’s camp is equally insistent that the fight remain at 145 with the title at stake. “We don’t need the fight if the title is not on the line,” Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, told The Manila Bulletin. “I want Manny to do this for a reason. I want Manny to win seven world titles. Titles are overrated but I would like to see Manny do this.”

My question is why all of a sudden is this coming out, especially after the fight had been announced? Surely, Manny Pacquiao’s camp was fully aware of the title not being up for stake when the fight was announced, Bob Arum has been stating this all along, or is Manny starting to reconsider the fight altogether with Cotto, who at 145 will be only one pound lighter than the 146 he weighed in at for the Clottey fight?

Is the stance by Cotto a relevant one as well? Should a challenger such as Manny Pacquiao (who IS the challenger in this case) be dictating the terms without any challenge from the actual champion, in this case Miguel Cotto?

Cotto, in my OPINION, has swallowed his pride and has taken a lot of abuse the last few weeks since this fight has been announced . He has taken abuse from Pacquiao’s fans and from Manny’s camp as well. He has not been given the respect by the boxing community and has been seen as the weakest opponent for Manny to fight, hence the reason Pacquiao did not jump on Shane Mosley’s proposition to give into Pacquiao’s terms.

It seems Cotto is finally getting aggravated by all of this and putting his foot down. Miguel has settled on the demands of coming down weight to 145, Cotto has given in on the purse of the fight, which from all accounts will be a 65-35 split for Pacquiao. Miguel has given in on the location of the fight which will take place At the MGM Grand in Vegas. I know what some of you are going to say ” Manny is the Pound for pound king, he should call all the shots” But I disagree. That is a STATUS given to a fighter by the fans and boxing experts, NOT AN OFFICIAL BELT. Miguel Cotto holds a Belt and is the reigning WBO champion in the welterweight division, which the last time I checked is at 147 pounds nothing more.

It would be a hypocrisy for the World Boxing Organization to strip Cotto of his belt( which has been the buzz), when Cotto has a legitimate right to state, that if you want to challenge the champion of a specific weight for his belt, you fight him at that weight. If Cotto wanted to fight Manny for his junior Welterweight title I am sure that Manny would say the same thing. Its common sense folks. If Manny wants the fight for Cotto’s belt, then it should be at Cotto’s 147 that is where the belt resides not at 145, which is fair and only right especially if the roles where in reverse.

I am a huge Manny Pacquiao fan quite possibly one of the biggest, but I am a huge fan of boxing which supersedes any fighter. I am starting to think that Freddie Roach and Pacquiao are starting to realize that they might have bitten off more than they can chew. Just a day before this title situation, in which Pacquiao has created, Miguel Cotto recently sent a stern message to Freddie Roach after Freddie had some bold prediction about the outcome of there proposed showdown.

I quote, “Hey Roach, I have some news. I am not Oscar De La Hoya at the end of his career. I am not the overrated Ricky Hatton. Roach knows what he will be facing on November 14th, it will be a war.” Have these words finally sunken into the heads of everyone in Pacquiao’s camp? They know that Miguel Cotto will not budge on this title situation and are NOW saying that without the belt they do not need Cotto. Is this their way out of the fight? Who knows, but the timing of all of this in relation to Cotto’s stern warning have to make you think.

Life is about challenging yourself and others when you are a fighter not taking a short cut to glory. I have to say that in THIS case Manny is trying to take a short cut to glory. He wants the rewards of a belt that is in a higher weight division, without actually allowing the champion to fight at that weight. I would hope that this is not just a ploy to get out of this fight with Cotto because I admire Manny Pacquiao’s body of work.

It would be a shame as well for Cotto to be forced to do something that makes complete sense on his part as well. I have a solution to all of this, Manny if you want to make history and win Cotto’s belt then do it the right way, allow Miguel Cotto to fight without a catch weight and then you would have earned a title the right way.

Cotto has given into all of your demands(and he is the champion), now it is up to you to look into yourself and think long and hard whether you are going to fight your own battle or whether you’re going to have your lawyers or the WBO fight your battle for you. Fans of boxing, Cotto is not fighting Pacquiao for his junior welterweight title he has been there done that, it is the other way around. Manny Pacquiao is fighting for Miguel Cotto’s Belt!

In closing boxing fans. If this fight is canceled then it leaves me with this sad conclusion. Someone that I love as a fighter (Manny Pacquiao) is nothing more than a bully outside the ring in his negotiating tactics and when FINALLY faced with tough opposition, not only inside the ring, but now outside from Cotto he wants to threaten the fight from moving forward, It seems a little too familiar to why he has not fought Juan Manuel Marquez again. That is a cowardly act that threatens us boxing fans the opportunity to see what can be one of the greatest clashes we have ever seen.

Pacquiao - Cotto Fight No Title on the Line

Pacquiao-Cotto fight scheduled on November 14 will not be a title match anymore. Cotto's WBO Welterweight title will not be up for grabs. This was the news I got from InsideFights.com. Here's the complete article from Inside Fights.

When the fight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao was first announced, promoter Bob Arum mentioned adding a certain element to “sweeten the deal” for Pacquiao. Most assumed that would come in the form of Cotto’s WBO Welterweight title being on the line, despite the bout not taking place at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. Now that Arum has made it clear that the title will not be up for grabs in November, the fight unfortunately loses some historic significance.

But will that make the fight any less appealing?

Pacquiao was keen on becoming boxing’s first seven-division champion in history, though there’s a lot of room for debate there. He’s won titles from the “big four” organizations (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) in four different weight classes, including flyweight, super bantamweight, junior lightweight and lightweight in addition to beating the recognized champion of two other divisions; Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight and Ricky Hatton at junior welterweight.

In that sense, Pacquiao is a six-division champion to many, but his win over David Diaz for the WBC Lightweight title, for example, can only be taken so far. There were two other champions in the division at the time, WBA, IBF and WBO Champion Nate Campbell and recognized champion Joel Casamayor, both of whom were considered better fighters than Diaz. Still, details aside, Pacquiao has won in countless weight classes, making him the true definition of pound-for-pound.

But trying to make Cotto defend his title in their November fight is where the line needed to be drawn. By refusing to pay the sanctioning fees required to put the WBO title at stake, Cotto, thankfully, has done just that before things really got out of hand.

It should never have been a question of whether or not the belt – and the opportunity for Pacquiao to call himself a seven-division champion – was at stake in this fight. The bout is a catchweight, not a welterweight fight. Sure, it will be contested under welterweight since both men are allowed to weigh in up to 145 pounds, meaning it’s not a junior welterweight nor junior middleweight fight – the divisions immediately north and south of 147 pounds. But since Cotto won’t be allowed to weigh in up to 147 pounds, as welterweights are supposed to be, it never really was a welterweight fight and certainly shouldn’t have been treated like one.

To draw an analogy to one of Pacquiao’s celebrity fans, forcing Cotto to defend a 147-pound belt at a limit of 145 pounds would be the equivalent of telling the Los Angeles Lakers they’ll defend their NBA title against the Orlando Magic, but they can only play Kobe Bryant for a certain number of minutes. It’s changing the rules, and it’s simply not fair to Cotto.

Consider Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose multi-divisional success has fans constantly likening him to Pacquiao. Mayweather has won title in five divisions without a loss. He didn’t beat the recognized champion in all of those divisions, but he also never put a limit on his opponent’s weight to increase his chances of a win. Imagine Mayweather challenging Oscar De La Hoya for the junior middleweight title and demanding Oscar only weigh in at 152 pounds. It’s a shortcut, and it shouldn’t be allowed.

Beating Cotto at 145 pounds doesn’t make Pacquiao a welterweight champion. If he wanted to call himself a champion there, then he shouldn’t have demanded the fight take place at a catchweight. Obviously, he and trainer Freddie Roach, or at least one of the two, don’t feel confident about their chances fighting a welterweight Cotto. Otherwise, why throw any stipulations on what should have been a truly historic fight? Why not allow Cotto the allotted weight and earn the title the way others have?

Pacquiao and Arum were simply trying to take a shortcut to a fabled accolade, and, by refusing to put his title up for grabs, Cotto cut them off at the pass. If that had been allowed to happen, what would stop Pacquiao from challenging a junior middleweight champion and forcing him to drain himself to 150 pounds while still defending his title?

Enough was enough. It’s the right decision on Cotto’s part, even if it’s unpopular among fans who were buying into the historic angle of this fight.

The advice here? Enjoy the fight and stop worrying about history.

Belts are little more than a bargaining tool in boxing these days anyway. Having a fight labeled a “championship fight” may add intrigue to casual fans and increase buyrates just enough to make it worth the effort, but belts have lost their luster among boxing fans, and it’s been that way for some time. It’s who you beat that matters, not the various belts you pick up along the way. And, with a win over Cotto, Pacquiao’s resume is even further solidified as one of the all-time greats.

Is a title trinket, especially one that Cotto “won” by beating up Michael Jennings, really enough to turn boxing fans off to an otherwise huge event? The answer is a resounding “no.”

Fans will be treated to a real battle when Cotto, one of the top three welterweights in the world, and Pacquiao, the best junior welterweight in the world, clash in Madison Square Garden in November. At 145 pounds, Pacquiao will retain much of his incredible speed while Cotto won’t sacrifice too much of his brute welterweight strength. Catchweight translates to middle ground, meaning fans will see each guy as good as he can be without limiting the other too much.

A win over Cotto is huge for Pacquiao, title or no title. He’ll earn a big paycheck and really put himself in the driver’s seat regarding the bigger fight – the one that really matters – against Mayweather, especially if Floyd’s fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in September fails to pull in a comparable buyrate.

And should that fight come to fruition next, well, either fighter would likely trade in all the belts in their careers for a win on that stage – a battle between two of the greatest to ever step in the ring.

Inside Fights