Quote Originally Posted by greynotsoold View Post
You don't have to weigh 160 to be a middle; it is 'up to' 160. Ray Robinson was 151, I believe, when he won it the first time. Henry Armstrong was in the 140s when he challenged for it, and he won the 147 title at 136.
Telling a guy to weigh 157 to fight for the title is probably wrong. But Geale didn't have to agree to it and he could have handled his weight differently once he did. If I was managing Cotto, I would honor the 160 limit but every contract would enforce a rehydration limit of 165.
A guy weighing 160 for one minute the day before the fight and the getting in the ring at 172 or more is the real insult to the sport.
The rehydration as a whole is off the chart today with guys putting on anywhere from 10 to 21 lbs in many cases. But Geale had no obligation to be reweighed...and Cotto would not even get back on the scale so his at the bell weight was not known. Cotto double dipped, taking the limit off the top..no 160..and he didn't even come in at minimum 154 himself. To me, he lost the legitimacy of lineal middle as he will even defend there. I do believe Robinson was above minimum for 1st middle strap with Lamotta and had no stipulations, he was outweighed in all of there fights up to the point of 15 lbs once if I'm not mistaken? The thing with Robinson was he knew and acted like he was indeed that much better in that series. No shenanigans or gimmicks..lets just have a fight!