This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected 08/02/2009 | 01:42 PM This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected | | More Miguel Cotto wouldnt want to stake his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt against Manny Pacquiao in their November 14 showdown in Las Vegas. But Pacquaios outspoken trainer Freddie Roach expressed belief the WBOs 147-lbs belt would eventually be placed on the line in the fight set at a catchweight of 145-lbs whether the Puerto Rican fighter likes it or not. This content is protected Freddie Roach, left, while training Manny Pacquiao for his showdown with Ricky Hatton last May. AP If (Cotto) gives it (welterweight crown) up, I think the WBO will make Manny the number one. We'll pay the sanctioning fee and the title will be on the line. That's what I think will happen," Roach said Sunday in an interview with This content is protected Cotto had publicly expressed his This content is protected against the Filipino ring icon, saying the 145-lb catchweight is not a category" and that if Pacquiao wanted a title fight, it had to be at the welterweight limit of 147-lbs. He even said hes willing to give up the strap if the WBO would insist on making it a title fight. WBO president Francisco Valcarcel himself said it could still be a This content is protected , citing a similar precedent, the Oscar De La Hoya-Bernard Hopkins duel for the middleweight (160-lb) crown which was fought at 158-lbs. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected Trainer Freddie Roach Pacquiao, realizing the opportunity to win an This content is protected , had instructed his lawyer, Jeng Gacal, to coordinate with Valcarcel and promoter Bob Arum to make the necessary arrangements, including payment of the $150,000 sanction fee. I haven't spoken to Manny (about it) but if it was me, I would ask for the title to be on the line. I think regardless of what Cotto says, the title will be on the line," Roach said in the *********** interview. I want it for Manny's legacy. Manny won titles at 112, 122, 126, 130, 135, and 140. I want to see him become the first fighter to win seven world titles in seven weight divisions," he added. Pacquiao, the current International Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine light-welterweight champion, had previously owned titles at flyweight (World Boxing Council), super-bantamweight (International Boxing Federation), featherweight (Ring Magazine), super-featherweight (WBC), and lightweight (WBC). GMANews.TV
