Should titles be allowed to be fought for at catchweights?

In light of the (uncofirmed) rumors of Pacquiao and Clottey fighting at 144lbs for Pacquiao's WBO title, it begs the question of fairness for a defending champion to impose weight limits that are different from the weight limits of the title itself.

While I understand that catchweights have historical precedence and have often led to classic fights that otherwise wouldn't have happened, when it comes to championship belts, the defending champion should have an obligation to defend his title under the rules of the belt's patron.

The question, therefore, is should the WBO withdraw its sanctioning of Pacquiao/Clottey as a championship fight if indeed it is contracted at 144lbs? And more importantly, should such actions be codified as rules across all boxing organizations prohibiting a boxer from defending his belt at a weight limit other than the one for which the belt was established? Will not doing so open the door for champions to permanently impose their own weight limits, thereby having greater power than the commission itself over the definition of the weight range for that division?

 

Here's the problem. For a welterweight bout, yes there's nothing wrong with a catchweight fight as a matter of a private contract between two parties. But for the welterweight championship, is it fair to impose a lower weight limit than the one for which the belt was established as a condition for being allowed to challenge for the belt?

Not to me.

By being allowed to do this, Manny has essentially changed the welterweight limit. As long as you're a welterweight, if you want to become WBO champion, the welterweight limit is no longer 147 - it's now 144. It's an unprecendented amount of power to give to a boxer because it allows him to override the commission rules on what constitutes a weight class. It sets a pretty serious and dangerous precedent if this becomes Manny's new MO.

Imagine if Chris Byrd was the heavyweight champion and said, "From now on, in order to fight me, you have to weigh no more than 210lbs" and refused to fight anybody but his annual patsy unless they came in at that weight. He's essentially changed the boxing rules for that organization. Why should this be legal?