Pacquiao Vs Cotto is a Non Title Bout

How True Pacquiao Vs Cotto is a Non Title Bout?

On November 14th, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto will meet at a catchweight limit of 145 pounds in what will no doubt be one of the biggest boxing attraction for year 2009.

Since the weight limit for a welterweight bout’s official weight-in is 147lbs, then 145lbs is very well within the welterweight limit. Hence this fight is in the welterweight division.

Since Miguel Cotto is supposedly the WBO welterweight champion, then the WBO welterweight belt is supposedly on the line for this fight right?

Well…not quite… yet. Until they pay…

Recently there are some articles that were published mentioning that the Cotto vs. Pacquiao fight may not be a championship bout because they didn’t want to pay the WBO sanctioning fees.

While we agree that it is easier from the avid die-hard fans’ perspective to recognize an individual champion, with the frequency of title defenses, this is not a model that allows worthy contenders to fight for a title in a timely manner. But for the casual boxing fans, this makes them more confused…If you ask a casual fan who is the heavyweight champion of the world is, they’ll have no clue. Because there are three of them!

In recent years, and increasing number of ludicrous title fights have taken place; regular champions, interim championships, title eliminators, final eliminators, and Inter-continental, Oriental-Pacific and other a-b-c-d-e-f-g title fights. Today, many weight divisions suffer from the Alphabet Syndrome. There has not been a real champion. A number of factors have kept the division in turmoil, because there are forces that contribute to that confusion. A tournament might not settle every question; it does not always happen whenever an elimination bout took place. Nor the champ always fights the top contender or the best opponents out there.

More sanctioning bodies mean more opportunities for boxers, which is why we rarely hear the boxers themselves complaining about too many sanctioning bodies.

But it is the likes of the alphabet soup titles that are milking the sport by raking in sanctioning fees. Individual boxer’s views on sanctioning bodies would certainly vary depending on whose opinion you were seeking. The chance for a lower ranked fighter to proclaim himself a world champion would supposedly give a certain appeal, and hopefully potential financial benefits.

Some group of dudes can group together, form a sanctioning body, and call themselves “Intergalactic Pugilistic Council” or something to that effect; recognize a certain guy as their “Champion of the whole galaxy” (which could sound more prestigious than champion of the world right? à Not!) and then ask that recognized champion, his opponents and the promoters to pay them “sanctioning fees” whenever their champion fights because he should be defending the title, for the championship of the galaxy! If they don’t pay sanctioning fees, they’ll strip off the title from their champ! They’d say “Pay up or you’re no longer champion!” Sounds like good business eh?

Casual boxing fans or even people that have slight idea about boxing championship, think that a champion should lose his championship if he was beaten by a better fighter.

That may be happening with the Ring Magazine’s Lineal Championships, but with regards to these alphabet titles (WBO, IBF, WBC, WBA, etc., etc.,)…That’s not always the case…

Amidst the politics, the money and multiple sanctioning bodies giving out this title and that… make casual boxing fans more confused. What more when a certain champion is no longer champion and his title is no longer on the line for his up and coming fight simply because they didn’t pay? Wouldn’t that make casual fans even more confused? Would the fact that the champion is stripped off his title because of not paying sanctioning fees create more interest and attract more boxing fans or quite the opposite?

Remember, boxing is a good business if and only if there are more boxing fans!

And championships are held supposedly to attract more followers of the sport. Ever wonder why more people watch the NBA finals than the regular games? Or the Superbowl Finals? Or the World Cup Finals? Or the event for the gold medal? Why? Simply because it’s the CHAMPIONSHIP being participated supposedly by the best in the sport!

What does a championship bout could mean to Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao?

Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao will be scheduled to fight 12rounds anyways, and they will surely get their millions too even without the title on the line. These are two real warriors who don’t need belts to prove their worth. They have proven time and again that they are real champions. It’s just so happens that the titles are there up for grabs, and it doesn’t hurt to have those shiny things around the waist.

Do you really think the pound for pound best fighter in the world need the WBO welterweight belt to prove he is the best? He is already the best! Manny Pacquiao already captured 4 lineal titles in 4 different weight divisions! And nobody in history has ever done anything like that!

Would Miguel Cotto’s stock be lessening if he was striped off the WBO title because of not paying the sanction fee? Not at all! He is still Miguel Cotto, the champ who has beaten Carlos Quintana, Zab Judah, Paulile Malignaggi, Joshuah Clottey, Ricardo Torres and many other really tough guys! And now people wonder if Margarito could’ve really beaten him without that hardening plaster in his gloves?

And what does a WBO welterweight championship between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquio mean to boxing? Or better yet, what could this mean to Mr. Bob Arum, the sole promoter of this fight? boxing-pacquiao-vs-cotto.blogspot.com

Well… a lot! For boxing fans, this is about history. This is about watching Manny Pacquiao attempt something that seemed to be impossible back then, a record breaking 7 world titles in 7 different weight divisions. Millions of fighters in the world would not even have 1 world title in their lifetime, how great can a person be if he person can capture seven! And that’s not all…in seven different weight divisions! This is about witnessing Manny Pacquiao, a little guy who started boxing at 106lbs, would face yet again, a bigger, stronger guy, trying to capture a title at 147lbs.

This is about Miguel Cotto defending his championship title against the pound for pound best fighter in the world! This is about the champ fighting the champ!

And it would be a boxing fans’ dream to witness something like that and tell the story for the next generations to come of the momentous championship that was Cotto vs. Pacquiao.

If this will be a championship bout…

For Bob Arum, this is about sparking people’s interest in boxing. This is about attracting more boxing fans to witness history in the making, which could mean more pay-per-view sales! This is about getting more customers and keeping those customers so they can come back for more.

This is about attracting more advertisers, putting in more sponsorship, and more millions in this sport of boxing. Heck! A championship event is the advertisers’ dream event!

This is about making more extra millions of dollars out of this mega event!

That could also mean bigger income for Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao from their revenue split!

Again, if this is a championship bout…

Therefore, why can’t they make it into one?!

C’mon! Put some sweet and some spice in this event! Pay the sanctioning fees and make everybody happy!