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Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and the WBC's ridiculous belt

Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao are reportedly thrilled to be fighting for the "WBC Diamond Championship." Consider me skeptical. (Photo via www.boxnews.com.ua)

Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao are reportedly thrilled to be fighting for the "WBC Diamond Championship." Consider me skeptical. (Photo via www.boxnews.com.ua)

In case you missed it, the WBC recently manufactured a title and a belt for catch-weight mega-fights, or for mega-fights in general, or some such total nonsense, and they called it the WBC Diamond Championship.

Hardcore boxing fans were almost universal in their dismissal, with I'd wager about 70% of us wondering if this was a joke that had gotten out of hand. The Diamond title! And it was unanimously voted on by cardboard cutouts representing the WBC's "board of governors."

But it's real, and it's happening. When WBO welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao square off on November 14, the title will be "at stake." Ronnie Nathanielsz reports that both fighters are excited, according to Bob Arum, who says they're "crazy" about all the diamonds, and that the belt "is something new and adds to the excitement."

Now...hang on.

First of all, I highly doubt that Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao are "crazy" about the title. I just don't see Cotto or Pacquiao getting all giddy about an ugly belt with a bunch of diamonds on it. This sounds like grandpa at Christmas time. "Didja see Billy openin' up that surfboard (note: it was a skateboard) I got 'im? He was crazy about it!" Billy, for the record, is fairly indifferent.

Second, it adds nothing. It IS something new, and it's so ridiculously unnecessary that words can't properly describe it. I could even use some words I generally keep off the front page here, and they still wouldn't be enough. In short, it's a f***ing stupid waste of f***ing time, another f***ing belt in a sport with too f***ing many of them for anyone sane to keep track of in the first f***ing place.

See? Not good enough. Not descriptive enough. Doesn't quite get across just how much I hate the WBC diamond title, which I may simply choose to ignore, making one of those internet political statements the kids are so fond of in our current era. This belt means nothing. It gives the WBC money for fights it has no f***ing business sticking its f***ing nose into. That's it and that's all. It is a money-grubbing, fake, fabricated piece of jewelry that has nothing to do with the sport of boxing. If Cotto and Pacquiao pay sanctioning fees for that hunk of nothing, then they deserve to have given the money away.

And if anyone wants to pay me for the kids' WWE championship belt that is currently serving as the Wii Sports bowling title in my living room, I'll put some new tape and notebook paper on that and you guys can fight for that, too. Hey, at least that belt has history.

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I'm not paying you anything

I believe that belt has my name on it, and I have to pay you anything to defend it, I’m vacating the title.

by rmatheny on Aug 18, 2009 4:38 PM EDT reply actions  

More belts More sanctioning fees. It's all about the money

Dude I feel ya,this Diamond belt is a complete joke and they should all be ashamed of themselves for even thinking about making it , let alone actually doing it. What’s next, lets see we can have the Senior Sapphire Championship Belt for fighters in there 30’s or 40’s. Hell, lets make a belt for guys who already have belts and call it the Cobalt Champion Of Champions Championship Belt and they can fight for that instead of putting up there respective belts. Where does it end and what is going to stop the other sanctioning bodies from making more crappy belts up now? We don’t need them,boxing doesn’t need them,enough already.

by Full Throttle on Aug 18, 2009 5:34 PM EDT reply actions  

It depends on how it really pans out.

if this belt ends up being something of significance and there are more fighters moving up and down in weightclass to fight each other I think it will have been worth it.

This year there are two catchweight fights that are pretty decent ones. I could think of a few more catchweight fights I’d like to see happen and if this inadvertently turns out to be a step to making those fights a reality it might not be such a bad thing.

by MannyPacquiao on Aug 18, 2009 5:40 PM EDT reply actions  

Catchweight fights were made — including the two big ones coming up — without this dumbass belt. The belt is nothing but the WBC taking fighters’ money.

by Scott Christ on Aug 18, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions  

Agreed

They saw a chance to cash in and they took it. I don’t know about you but I’d feel like a dumbass calling myself the Catchweight Champion Of The World. Just can’t see how Pac or Cotto could really care about this belt.

by Full Throttle on Aug 18, 2009 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions  

This is such great news

I seriously cannot wait until the WBC decides to make belts for fighters making their daybues!

"Penelosa is not human." -Max Kellerman on Gerry Penelosa during the Juan Manuel Lopes-Gerry Penelosa bout.

by Sickle on Aug 18, 2009 6:52 PM EDT reply actions  

Wow...

Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."

by xFenixKnightx on Aug 18, 2009 7:48 PM EDT reply actions  

Bull shit!!

A yo, fuck that belt! Pac-Man better come up in weight !(puertoroc Caguas n.y rican bklyn bound punks chumps get beat downs!!!)

by bomberjet on Aug 18, 2009 8:40 PM EDT reply actions  

When I first heard about it, I thought it was a gag. It doesn’t really bother me that much. Same old crooked sanctioning nonsense.

"This fight'll be the nastiest thing you'll ever see. I been sober for six weeks, and that makes me vicious."
-- Randall 'Tex' Cobb

by jrok on Aug 19, 2009 12:42 AM EDT reply actions  

To win a belt don't you have to beat the existing Champion?

I believe this man is the true owner of the Diamond belt…

"Chris Eubank lost his recent comeback fight on points ... the main one being that he's a total git."

by bazzlad on Aug 19, 2009 3:36 AM EDT reply actions   2 recs

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