Big Apple Boxing Thoughts 08.17.09: Cotto Deserves Better
Posted by Jonathan Yaghoubi on 08.17.2009
One of boxing's best has not been getting his fair shake from those surrounding him
Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank
I have been thinking about this for a while but never had the time to put it down into words. Has there ever been a time when a defending world champion with as much credibility as Miguel Cotto, has been treated so badly by his opponents, the sanctioning body he represents, and the very promoter who is supposed to have his best interests at heart.
In these last few years, the disrespect tossed at Cotto has been a lesson for all those warriors in the sport who work the company line and keep their mouths shut.
The first sign of this came after Cotto's brutal knockout loss at the hands of Antonio Margarito.
As everyone knows, Margarito was found to be wearing hand wraps coated with a "plaster-like" substance prior to his bout with Shane Mosley. When people put two and two together, many put a big question mark over Margarito's win over Cotto. All people can remember was the grotesque manner in which he battered Cotto's face.
Top Rank leader and alleged member of Team Cotto, Bob Arum, spent most of the "Plaster Gate" scandal defending Margarito and denying the loaded wrap claims. He obviously felt nothing for Cotto who may have been a victim of Antonio's cheating ways.
Cotto sat back and remained the strong silent type, only occasionally giving voice to the anger he felt inside for the possible cheat and frustration of having his own promoter defend the fighter who may have, literally, stolen millions from him from a big fight that Cotto could have had with Oscar De La Hoya back in December.
Then to top that all off, Manny Pacquiao jumps in and claims the glory that could very well have been his by knocking off Oscar.
After all this, Cotto was forced into a meaningless fight with Michael Jennings, and a tough battle with the underrated Joshua Clottey for a fraction of the pay he would've received from a De La Hoya bout. There is no doubt that Clottey is the far superior fighter than De La Hoya at this point of their careers.
All this leads to an eventual big money showdown with Pacquiao where despite being the reigning champ, he is forced to give in to every one of Pacquiao's demands, including a 145-pound limit.
While the blame for this weak negotiating falls squarely on Team Cotto, it should be pointed out that Bob Arum never once lifted a finger to defend Cotto's side of the table, despite having just lured Cotto to a two-year extension on his Top Rank contract.
Now, the latest "diss" for Cotto is that he's being told to either put up his WBO welterweight title for the Pacquiao fight or be forced to vacate it.
Cotto's take on this, and in my opinion, the right one, is that "the weight of 145 pounds is not a category."
Isn't the weight limit for the welterweight division 147 pounds? Even with Cotto's complaint, it seems the WBO does not care and are forcing Cotto to put that title on the line on the night of November 14th.
The WBO could care less about fair play and decided to counter Cotto's correct statement Pacquiao its No. 1 contender at 147, despite only one win as a welterweight, against an unranked De La Hoya.
Like it or not, Cotto will put up his hard-earned title, and without a doubt, it should be made clear that he's being forced to. If Cotto balks, he will find himself without the title and it will be Pacquiao's to win anyway.
How's that for respectful treatment of a veteran champion?
Beaten with illegal wraps, your cheating conqueror defended by your own promoter, your promotional company allowing you to be raped in negotiations, and the sanctioning body you represent forcing you to ignore their own bylaws and put the belt on the line...Geesh!
It's no wonder guys like De La Hoya and Mayweather opted to be on their own as soon as they reached the top...there's just no loyalty among thieves.
The best revenge for Cotto is to come into the Pacquiao fight, saddled with every possible psychological disadvantage, and stop the insanity right then and there with a big win. But, even then, he has to contend with the officials, who are always up for a good screw job, especially if it's in favor of a fighter "about to make history" with seven titles in seven weight divisions.
nice column though i have read some contradicting reports on this site. one is that it was pacquiao who gave in to cotto's demand of 145lbs. instead of the proposed 143. plus in the eyes of nearly every boxing fan, that loss to margarito does not count (at least unofficially). i also may have missed the news where cotto was being forced to defend his title since earlier reports said that he wasn't.
Posted By: wlighter (Guest) on August 17, 2009 at 02:09 AM
Dude it sucks huh????
Bullshit cheating dictatorship all over the sport.
Posted By: de la hoya's bm (Guest) on August 17, 2009 at 05:37 AM
While I'm a huge Cotto fan, I also believe his title can and should be on the line. Weight classes are defined by the upper limit in the class. Any fight that takes place between 140.1 and 147 pounds is a welterweight fight, period, and hence the welterweight title should be on the line. There is no rule that says the fighters have to weigh in at the maximum limit. Cotto didn't have to accept Pacquiao's catchweight demand, he didn't have to accept the fight at all. But he did, and now one of the consequences is that his title is on the line. No risk no reward.
Posted By: Josh (Guest) on August 17, 2009 at 09:19 AM
I'm sorry, but this article makes you sound like a complete Cotto homer. I know it's an opinion column, but it's somehow managed to turn everything that's happened over the past few years into a Cotto sob story.
'Top Rank leader and alleged member of Team Cotto, Bob Arum, spent most of the "Plaster Gate" scandal defending Margarito and denying the loaded wrap claims. He obviously felt nothing for Cotto who may have been a victim of Antonio's cheating ways.'
Yeah! How dare Arum defend his contracted fighter?
'All this leads to an eventual big money showdown with Pacquiao where despite being the reigning champ, he is forced to give in to every one of Pacquiao's demands, including a 145-pound limit.'
Forced? He isn't being forced to do anything. He wants the fight because it's really the only fight available to him where he's going to make assloads of cash. Pacquiao is the (much) bigger draw, and frankly it's only fair that he gets the lion's share of the cash. If Cotto doesn't want to fight Pac at the weight Pac wants to fight at, he can find someone else to fight for a fraction of the cash he'd make on a Pac fight.
Hell, I think a Mosley fight would be the better one myself, and Imo Cotto was only even being considered because of Bob Arum, who you apaprently hate. Damn him for giving your boy the chance for a megafight!
And what do you want here? Arum to take Cotto's side? At the expense of his other fighter, Pac? That'd be worse than what you whined about when Arum defended Margarito.
'Isn't the weight limit for the welterweight division 147 pounds? Even with Cotto's complaint, it seems the WBO does not care and are forcing Cotto to put that title on the line on the night of November 14th.'
Weight LIMIT. You can't be over that weight, but you sure as hell can be under it. Besides, I think Cotto's reason for not wanting it on the line was the sanctioning fee.
'The WBO could care less about fair play and decided to counter Cotto's correct statement Pacquiao its No. 1 contender at 147, despite only one win as a welterweight, against an unranked De La Hoya.'
And, you know, being the top p4p fighter in the world, and arguably the biggest draw in boxing.
Stop being a baby and accept that your boy doesn't deserve special treatment from ANYONE, least of all Arum. He beats Pac, that makes him. He can demand all he wants then, but until (& IF) he beats Pac, he's got to pay his dues.
Posted By: Vordeo (Guest) on August 17, 2009 at 01:14 PM
As everyone knows, Margarito was found to be wearing hand wraps coated with a "plaster-like" substance prior to his bout with Shane Mosley. When people put two and two together, many put a big question mark over Margarito's win over Cotto. All people can remember was the grotesque manner in which he battered Cotto's face.
After all this, Cotto was forced into a meaningless fight with Michael Jennings, and a tough battle with the underrated Joshua Clottey for a fraction of the pay he would've received from a De La Hoya bout. There is no doubt that Clottey is the far superior fighter than De La Hoya at this point of their careers.
