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Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Closer with Cotto’s Refusal

May 20, 2009, 6:10 PM UTC

Yesterday, boxer Miguel Cotto told the Puerto Rican newspaper, Primera Hora, that he would not fight pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao at a weight below 145 pounds, a declaration that, if he sticks to it, seems to all but negate the possibility of the two men ever fighting each other.â†µâ†µDespite the public’s clamoring for Pacquiao to fight the returning Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year, Bob Arum of Top Rank, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, has been pushing this potential Pac Man/Cotto matchup in the press since Manny disposed of Ricky Hatton in two brutal rounds earlier this month. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe weight issue, though, looks to be a major stumbling block. Where Manny’s team was willing to take a gamble at 147 pounds to face the aging Oscar De La Hoya, now it insists Pacquiao stay in the 140-pound zone, especially if he is going to step in there with a welterweight monster like Cotto. Clearly, they feel that with Manny’s star power growing by the day, they have the juice to dictate the terms to anyone who wants to face the Pac Man Express.â†µ

â†µâ†µOne of Pacquiao’s advisers, Michael Koncz, said as much recently to The Philippine Star: “It’s really up to Manny at what weight he’d like to fight Cotto, if at all ... Manny might want to bring it down to 142 ... This fight would mean more to Cotto than to Manny. If a limit of 142 is agreed, let Cotto struggle to make weight, not Manny.”â†µ

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â†µNow Cotto is on record that, superfight or no superfight, he won’t go lower than 145, and though some may think this is mere posturing for the eventual negotiation, I tend to think he’ll stick to that number. To my mind, Cotto is simply too big for Pacquiao to face at 147, and the fact that Freddie Roach among others is suddenly adamant that Manny is a 140-pounder now and won’t go above that to face Cotto or Shane Mosley only proves the point. Freddie knew in his heart that Manny’s speed would neutralize De La Hoya at 147, and he also knows that in a firefight with Cotto or Mosley at 47, though Pacquiao would still have a small advantage speed-wise, the disparity in size and strength would be greatly to his disadvantage. â†µ

â†µâ†µSo he thinks -- let them kill themselves to make 140 (or 142) and it will level the playing field. Maybe Mosley will end up taking that bait to get a crack at Pacquiao (although I doubt it -- 142 just does not seem doable to me for Sugar Shane) but I feel almost certain that Cotto will not. Fans who remember that Cotto rose to prominence at 140 may think this is a strange stance for him when so much potential money is at stake, but bear in mind that Cotto hasn’t fought at the junior welter limit since the summer of 2006, and even then he was struggling to make 140. Since that time, he has filled out to a sizable 147 and struggles to make that weight. There’s no question that taking it down to 142 would sap his strength considerably, and Oscar De La Hoya provided an ample blueprint for what happens these days if you deign to fight Pacquiao weight-drained and weak. At this point, you need all your mojo and then some to trade leather with Pacquiao.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe upshot is that it seems very doubtful that we are going to see Pacquiao/Cotto anytime soon, if ever. You might expect Cotto to give in on this point when the money’s actually on the table, but I think there are enough big fights looming for Cotto in his own weight class for him to take a pass on facing Manny in circumstances not to his liking. â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd as far as Pacquiao goes, well, there’s definitely another big fight looming for him, a very, VERY big fight indeed, one that seems more inevitable with every passing day. If not Cotto, and if not Mosley, then who else might want to fight Pacquiao? And no, Bob Arum, I am not referring to Edwin Valero.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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