Miguel Cotto says the WBC can keep their title, he'd rather keep his money

Miguel Cotto takes aim at the WBC, and sanctioning bodies in general, as he derides their practice of having multiple titlists in each division for the sole purpose of extorting sanctioning fees. I mean, no, it's not really extortion, but an apt analogy could be made there.

While speaking to the media at during his arrival at Las Vegas, Cotto said he wasn't upset by the WBC's decision, stating that it was all about money.

The WBC demanded $300,000 from both Miguel Cotto (whose side also had to fork over $800,000 to Gennady Golovkin to step aside) and Canelo Alvarez to sanction this weekend's fight. The WBC also required an additional $25,000 from both promoters, Roc Nation Sports and Golden Boy. Alvarez agreed to pay the fee, which allows him the opportunity to win the title should he beat Cotto, but Cotto tried to negotiate a lower price, which the WBC refused. The end result is that Alvarez will be eligible to win the middleweight title this weekend, while Cotto will no longer be the WBC's champion (win or lose).

Golden Boy's Oscar De La Hoya trashed Miguel Cotto for refusing to pay the sanctioning fee, saying that it was a disgrace to the promotion of the fight -- but Cotto, on the other hand, could care less and thinks Oscar should just mind his own business.

"The fee for this fight was absurd to me, and I prefer to keep the money in my account," said Cotto, who was upset by critical remarks about his decision by Golden Boy promoter De La Hoya, who represents Alvarez. "I don't need to pay attention to Oscar De La Hoya's opinion. He should take care of his own business, and I will take care of mine. I don't stick my nose in Oscar's business."

"The organization wants four champions in every division just to earn a percentage from everybody, and then we have to pay for their mistakes," Cotto said. "This is not fair to me. The WBC told me my offer was not reasonable to them. They told me I was not going to be their champion anymore. I don't need their belt."

I suppose you can't really fault Cotto for making a decision that's in his own best interest (as well as his family's). Cotto is past the point where he's really defined by a title belt anyway -- he's already the only Puerto Rican fighter to have won world titles in four weight classes, and says he has plenty of title belts at home.

"I have enough belts in my house. And with the money I saved, I can buy any belt I want," he said. "And I can be the champion of whatever I want in my house."

Again, I really can't knock Cotto for this sentiment. He's far from the first fighter to turn down paying sanctioning fees in lieu of keeping cash in his pocket, and with him being at the tail end of a HOF career, it seems like a sensible decision. And as one of my favorite lyricists would say, "screw your awards, my son can't eat those plaques."