Catchweight world title fight

[dalcumly]

I see that the WBC middleweight fight between Cotto and Alvarez has been set at 155lbs(11sts 1lb.) If the WBC are sanctioning the fight for THEIR title surely they've already decided the fight is set at 160lbs ( 11sts 6 lbs). If Alvarez weighs in at 11sts 5.75 lbs for instance then he's made the weight. But we've got the ludicrous situation that he will probably be fined by the promoter or Cotto can actually refuse to fight him, if he weighs WITHIN the title limit.
This is not new of course, I think it started with Leonard fighting La Londe.
My point is that the WBC set the weight for their title fight, and they should come out and forcibly make it clear that an arrangement to fight at a lesser limit is contrary to their rules,and the fight will not be sanctioned in these circumstances.
I'd like to hear the WBC justify this .

[orbtastic]

I know Cotto stipulated that Geale weigh no more than 157 in his last middleweight title defence. Cotto himself came in just under the light middle limit.

Bit of a joke really, especially when it's done to compromise one fighter.

[bigjack]

I see that the WBC middleweight fight between Cotto and Alvarez has been set at 155lbs(11sts 1lb.) If the WBC are sanctioning the fight for THEIR title surely they've already decided the fight is set at 160lbs ( 11sts 6 lbs). If Alvarez weighs in at 11sts 5.75 lbs for instance then he's made the weight. But we've got the ludicrous situation that he will probably be fined by the promoter or Cotto can actually refuse to fight him, if he weighs WITHIN the title limit.
This is not new of course, I think it started with Leonard fighting La Londe.
My point is that the WBC set the weight for their title fight, and they should come out and forcibly make it clear that an arrangement to fight at a lesser limit is contrary to their rules,and the fight will not be sanctioned in these circumstances.
I'd like to hear the WBC justify this .

This is my number one hate in boxing at the moment,Cotto knows Alvarez will have to starve to make that,Roach will know that too.

[handsofstone]

A contender can fight his whole career at a certain weight limit then when he finally gets his shot at the title,the "champ" makes him come in drained,ridiculous especially when Cotto says right after KO'n Geale that he isnt a MW

The WBC should've nipped this in the bud straight away but their a bunch of crooks who seem happy for Miguel to do this whenever he wants

[Boxerbeetle]

I see that the WBC middleweight fight between Cotto and Alvarez has been set at 155lbs(11sts 1lb.) If the WBC are sanctioning the fight for THEIR title surely they've already decided the fight is set at 160lbs ( 11sts 6 lbs). If Alvarez weighs in at 11sts 5.75 lbs for instance then he's made the weight. But we've got the ludicrous situation that he will probably be fined by the promoter or Cotto can actually refuse to fight him, if he weighs WITHIN the title limit.
This is not new of course, I think it started with Leonard fighting La Londe.
My point is that the WBC set the weight for their title fight, and they should come out and forcibly make it clear that an arrangement to fight at a lesser limit is contrary to their rules,and the fight will not be sanctioned in these circumstances.
I'd like to hear the WBC justify this .

This is my number one hate in boxing at the moment,Cotto knows Alvarez will have to starve to make that,Roach will know that too.

Eh? 155 is the most Alvarez has ever weighed for a fight anyway, it's not going to affect him in the slightest.

But I agree with the general principle - the weight should be determined by the governing body, not the champion. Catch-weights are a plague on the sport, and Roach has been the main offender over recent years.

[expe]

A contender can fight his whole career at a certain weight limit then when he finally gets his shot at the title,the "champ" makes him come in drained,ridiculous especially when Cotto says right after KO'n Geale that he isnt a MW

The WBC should've nipped this in the bud straight away but their a bunch of crooks who seem happy for Miguel to do this whenever he wants

The WBC limit is 11st 6, what the fighters agree is down to them and the commission, very little the WBC or any other sanctioning body can do about it.

[ShadrachSimmo]

I see that the WBC middleweight fight between Cotto and Alvarez has been set at 155lbs(11sts 1lb.) If the WBC are sanctioning the fight for THEIR title surely they've already decided the fight is set at 160lbs ( 11sts 6 lbs). If Alvarez weighs in at 11sts 5.75 lbs for instance then he's made the weight. But we've got the ludicrous situation that he will probably be fined by the promoter or Cotto can actually refuse to fight him, if he weighs WITHIN the title limit.
This is not new of course, I think it started with Leonard fighting La Londe.
My point is that the WBC set the weight for their title fight, and they should come out and forcibly make it clear that an arrangement to fight at a lesser limit is contrary to their rules,and the fight will not be sanctioned in these circumstances.
I'd like to hear the WBC justify this .

This is my number one hate in boxing at the moment,Cotto knows Alvarez will have to starve to make that,Roach will know that too.

Alvarez will make the weight just as easy as Cotto id imagine.

I want to see Alvarez win and if he does I hope he doesn't continue this fcuked up catch weight nonsense.

[bigjack]

I see that the WBC middleweight fight between Cotto and Alvarez has been set at 155lbs(11sts 1lb.) If the WBC are sanctioning the fight for THEIR title surely they've already decided the fight is set at 160lbs ( 11sts 6 lbs). If Alvarez weighs in at 11sts 5.75 lbs for instance then he's made the weight. But we've got the ludicrous situation that he will probably be fined by the promoter or Cotto can actually refuse to fight him, if he weighs WITHIN the title limit.
This is not new of course, I think it started with Leonard fighting La Londe.
My point is that the WBC set the weight for their title fight, and they should come out and forcibly make it clear that an arrangement to fight at a lesser limit is contrary to their rules,and the fight will not be sanctioned in these circumstances.
I'd like to hear the WBC justify this .

This is my number one hate in boxing at the moment,Cotto knows Alvarez will have to starve to make that,Roach will know that too.

Eh? 155 is the most Alvarez has ever weighed for a fight anyway, it's not going to affect him in the slightest.

But I agree with the general principle - the weight should be determined by the governing body, not the champion. Catch-weights are a plague on the sport, and Roach has been the main offender over recent years.

Fair enough however he will probably be less effective as that's the only reason roach the rat would insist on it.

[expe]

This is my number one hate in boxing at the moment,Cotto knows Alvarez will have to starve to make that,Roach will know that too.

Eh? 155 is the most Alvarez has ever weighed for a fight anyway, it's not going to affect him in the slightest.

But I agree with the general principle - the weight should be determined by the governing body, not the champion. Catch-weights are a plague on the sport, and Roach has been the main offender over recent years.

Fair enough however he will probably be less effective as that's the only reason roach the rat would insist on it.

Alvarez's last 3 fights have been made at 11st 1, Cotto's have been at 11st, 11st 5 and 11st 3. Neither's really a middleweight but it's for the middleweight title so they've made it at a catchweight, suits both fighters.

[keithmoonhangover]

Catchweight fights go all the way back to the bareknuckle days.

If it's a middleweight fight, the limit is 160lbs, that's the limit. Weighing less is allowed.

For a fight to happen, two fighters have to come to an agreement and when they do, they fight. Weight, ring size, glove size, entrances, purses, colour of shorts etc has happened for a very long time. If one boxer gets a raw deal during the negotiation, then that's his fault.

[Boxerbeetle]

Catchweight fights go all the way back to the bareknuckle days.

If it's a middleweight fight, the limit is 160lbs, that's the limit. Weighing less is allowed.

For a fight to happen, two fighters have to come to an agreement and when they do, they fight. Weight, ring size, glove size, entrances, purses, colour of shorts etc has happened for a very long time. If one boxer gets a raw deal during the negotiation, then that's his fault.

Fine if they both agree (in this instance it's basically 2 light-middles fighting anyway, so what's the difference, they were likely both pretty happy with the arrangement), but a belt holder shouldn't be allowed to dictate a maximum weight limit below the actual limit for the division.

Tbh though I sometimes don't know why fighters even try to drain just to make some random catch-weights - Geale should have just said fvck it and made 160. Surely even Cotto wouldn't have been so much of a diva as to refuse to go ahead with the fight?

[keithmoonhangover]

Catchweight fights go all the way back to the bareknuckle days.

If it's a middleweight fight, the limit is 160lbs, that's the limit. Weighing less is allowed.

For a fight to happen, two fighters have to come to an agreement and when they do, they fight. Weight, ring size, glove size, entrances, purses, colour of shorts etc has happened for a very long time. If one boxer gets a raw deal during the negotiation, then that's his fault.

Fine if they both agree (in this instance it's basically 2 light-middles fighting anyway, so what's the difference, they were likely both pretty happy with the arrangement), but a belt holder shouldn't be allowed to dictate a maximum weight limit below the actual limit for the division.

If the two parties agree, it has nothing to do with the governing body, nor should it.

[cocobongo]

There are 17 weight classes ,no reason for catchweight fights especially for a world title , Im a big Cotto fan but the fact is hes a fraud for calling himself a middleweight world champion when he wont allow any of his opponents to the weight , Canelo is just as bad for making his last few fights at 155!

[grub]

A contender can fight his whole career at a certain weight limit then when he finally gets his shot at the title,the "champ" makes him come in drained,ridiculous especially when Cotto says right after KO'n Geale that he isnt a MW

The WBC should've nipped this in the bud straight away but their a bunch of crooks who seem happy for Miguel to do this whenever he wants

The WBC limit is 11st 6, what the fighters agree is down to them and the commission, very little the WBC or any other sanctioning body can do about it.

Pretty much agree with this. As long as the WBC make the title winnable for Alvarez as long as he makes 160lb - what he signs up to in terms of the fight contract is up to him. Not saying it's 'right' though.

[dalcumly]

Has anyone asked themselves why the parties picked 155 lbs? They didn't pick 154 lbs because it would have drawn attention to how farcical the situation would have been given that in real terms they'd have been fighting for the light middle title!
The WBC sanction the fight and they can't interfere with the contract the fighters sign. But in the interests of the sport and the organisation they could withdraw they're sanction.
In my opinion this is no longer a world title fight. This is good quality match up which I want to see, but they can't introduce a new weight category ( the super light middleweight title!!)

[Datsue]

If the two parties agree, it has nothing to do with the governing body, nor should it.

If the two parties carry equal weight in negotiations, then yes. But--like decreeing a choice of gloves/ring size/venue/rehydration yadda yadda yadda--most things in boxing are not arbitrated fairly between equals.

It's nearly always part of a diktat, someone leveraging money to get better terms for their boy.

& that's why it's unpopular (even if I agree that in the case of Cotto/Alvarez it's moot, they're roughly the same size imo).

PS: I certainly don't give a fvck about "historical correctness" or whatever, I just don't like to see one person going into a fight on unequal terms.

Bleating "Yeah but they agreed to it!" don't mean shite; if a starving man was offered a meal if he would only saw his own leg off, that doesn't mean that it's right; it's inappropriate to use one's position to coerce another into accepting unequal terms, particularly when negotiating from positions of strength.

[Terminator666]

It shouldn't be for the middleweight title unless it's at the correct weight. How can these guys look back at their career and claim they were champions in certain weight divisions when they never fought at the correct weight.

[reggaereggae]

Lalonde - Leonard was particularly cynical as it was for both the super middle and light heavy title but at 168. I believe. It was done to beat Hearns fighting for his 6th world title.

[Terminator666]

That still annoys me even now

[reggaereggae]

That still annoys me even now

However I also believe the WBO were effectively invented to lend legitimacy to Hearns' win over Kinchen to lend it championship status

[orbtastic]

Manny bankrolled the embryonic WBO

[Datsue]

Manny bankrolled the embryonic WBO

Steward, bruv?

A lot of Kronk boys picked up a WBO strap around then--Moorer leaps to mind (& who was that light-heavy who got one? Leonzer Barber?).

I did always wonder about the coziness between the gold shorts & the brown belt.

[orbtastic]

Yeah, there was an old online article some years ago which appears to have been removed. Can't find it any more. It basically said he paid money to help get it established and in return he got his guys 3 title shots (Barber, Moorer and Hearns).

[Terminator666]

Barber looked good at one point. Thought he would be a name everyone would remember.

[Tomasino]

I don't see either of these middleweight pretenders fighting GGG after this.