Miguel Cotto deals with a weighty issue

LA Boxing Examiner | Ricardo Lois

Miguel Cotto agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao at a weight of 145 pounds, two pounds shy of the official welterweight limit. Now three days before the fight, Cotto is dealing with the realities of making a weight he has not been at or below since December, 2006.

Following Cotto's grand arrival at the MGM Grand - host of the fight - there were murmurs of Cotto's physical appearance. The native of Caguas, Puerto Rico looked to be weight drained - thin, with his cheek bones and eyeballs protruding.

Today during the final press conference Cotto still looked like a man rundown by the final days of meeting an acceptable fighting weight.

My co-host at The Boxing Truth Radio John Chavez does not believe that Cotto looks any different than usual.

Lou Block, of NowBoxing, provides a visual comparison of Miguel Cotto from yesterday against one of his pictures from a workout last week; the pictures do make Cotto look weaker and weight drained at this point in time.

"Cotto always looks like hell the week before the fight," said Chavez. "Much like Erik Morales, who always looked miserable the days leading into the fight. I do not think his physical appearance means much."

If Miguel Cotto is suffering from the battle to make weight and is starched by Manny Pacquiao, there should be no excuses put forward by himself, his team, media members, or fans.

When the contracts were drawn during July, Cotto agreed to a weight of 145 pounds and now he is dealing with reality of what it means to make 145 pounds as an established welterweight.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2850-LA-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m11d11-Miguel-Cotto-deals-with-a-weighty-issue