What do you think of Catch weights?

[Rantcatrat]

I think that the main reason we are seeing them now is because of money. There isn't enough star power in boxing in each division to just fight guys in your division to make money.. So Floyd took the big money to fight Oscar and moved up in weight.. Manny moved up in weight and Oscar dropped weight to make money, etc..

Although there are exceptions, like Taylor Pavlik II.. Taylor knew it was getting harder and harder to make 160, so he felt that if he lost, he would be a better fighter at a higher weight.. so they fought at 166.. and now taylor hasn't gone back down to middleweight ever since then..

I think that Catch weights are a great option to have.. BUT, the way that they are being used in the sport today is abusing that option.. normally there is not much "meeting in the middle", and someone is gaining/dropping more than the other which then allows people to come up with excuses.. "he gained too much weight and didn't bring his power with him" and/or "he was weight drained from sucking so much weight".

Strong Post. It is the money. That's it. In order to make the big money fights, boxers will shed a few pounds or gain a few pounds rather than fight lesser known boxers at their weight class.

I've said this many times before, if all parties agreed to have a fight at a certain weight (regular weight class, catchweight or otherwise) then there's NO PROBLEM AT ALL... If a boxer agreed to fight at THAT WEIGHT then he believes that HE CAN WIN the fight at THAT WEIGHT... end of...
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So you're supporting Pacquiao's stance . I'm stunned.

Seriously what is the point of having weightclasses if fighters keeping breaking those barriers? If Pacquiao wants to fight a Welterweight for a Welterweight World Title, then he should do so at 147. If he doesn't, then he should stay at 140 and fight a 140lber.

Really? You would rather Pacquiao, the current ambassador of the sport we follow, who has the ability to interest the casual fan, to fight the Kendall Holt's and Tim Bradley's at 140 than fight Shane Mosely and Miguel Cotto at 144?

The fuzz is that an opponent is weakened. People have given Manny a lot of respect and attention for beating bigger guys like Oscar and Hatton, he can do it again or at least has a good shot of doing it again. In my opinion Manny has Superior boxing skills, hand speed, foot movement compared to Cotto, isn't that enough of an advantage? If he shows up and fights Cotto with a good game plan and great boxing skills like he did against Oscar his chances are very good against Cotto.

Manny fought Oscar at the 147 limit, why not Cotto?

Because Hoya is a 154 boxer and PAC a 135 boxer so they met in the middle of 147...

Cotto a 147 boxer and PAC a 140 boxer now so they will meet in the middle which is 143/144...
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Oh I get it now.
Pacman fans seems to think anytime a guy moves up in weight to fight for a title it has to be at a catch weight right? lol
That's not how it's done son. It's rarely done in boxing. When a guy moves up in weigth and wants to challenge another guys titles both are usually in good tip top condition to square off. That's just a pussy move popularize by Delahoya and Ray Leonard.

Manny's people may know that his optimal weight probably due to his shorter stature is closer to 140/135 than 147 and that fighting boxers who naturally fight at 147 will be challenging. Against Mosely, I see the point. Mosely at 147 would dominate Pacquiao. Mosely at 142, well the playing field is more even, Mosely's power and speed may not translate in the same way at the lesser weight and Manny will be at slightly above his optimal weight but still in the ball park. In addition, Mosely is a welter of average size. With Cotto, a fight at 147 makes more sense. I've always thought Cotto to be a below-average welter in size and coupled with his most recent performances, I'd give Manny the edge at 147, but either fighter could win.

It isn't true that catchweights are rare in boxing today. Off the top, Bhop-Pavlik, Juan Diaz - Paulie Malignaggi, Taylor-Pavlik II, were all at a catch weight. And those are just the big fights. I'm sure it is common in lesser fights too.

However, Pacquiao didn't opt for a catchweight against Ricky Hatton - that that was a title fight. The reason, to get back to my point earlier, is that 140 is closer to Pacquiao's optimal weight. Moving up to 147, may just be too much for Pacquiao. If that's the case, the fight shouldn't be for a welterweight title, but there still should be a fight. Who else would you rather Pacquiao fight than Mosely, Cotto, or PBF?