LONDON (4 June) – WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and his opponent Daniel Geale are both ready to do battle this Saturday night despite issues over their catchweight limit.
The build up to their world title clash this weekend has been marred with discontent from Geale’s promoter Gary Shaw over the 157-pound limit that was set despite the fact they are competing for Puerto Rican legend Cotto’s 160-pound middleweight crown.
Shaw has been vocal in his criticism of catchweights ahead of the fight, live and exclusive on BoxNation.
“I have a personal problem with catchweights. We accepted the catchweight of 157 and I’m not here to complain about the catchweight. We’re going to make the weight. It’s going to be tough.
“I believe that if a fighter wants to fight at any weight that he wants to fight at, he has that opportunity, but he shouldn’t stop the opponent from fighting at the sanctioned weight which in this case is 160,” said Shaw.
Four-weight world champion Cotto has had to fight at a catchweight himself in the past, notably against Manny Pacquiao in 2009, when the Filipino’s trainer Freddie Roach insisted on the 145-pound limit.
34-year-old Cotto is now trained by Hall of Famer Roach and is just looking forward to doing the business when he steps into the ring.
“I think that people are making a big issue where there does not need to be a big issue with catchweights. Freddie, back in 2009, made me go down from 147 to 145,” said Cotto.
“Did anyone hear anything about Miguel Cotto disagreeing with the catchweights? No, I was a gentleman the whole way. Catchweights were our main point to make this fight happen.
“Daniel and his team agreed to going down to 157 and I hope he can make weight on Friday. I hope to see everyone there on Saturday night,” he said.
Speaking on his growing relationship with Roach, who he joined forces with in 2013 after two back-to-back defeats, the skilled Cotto feels the 55-year-old is getting the best out of him.
“Freddie brings the confidence back to Miguel. He comes every day no matter what he feels and gives his best to me,” said Cotto.
“When you have this kind of person in front of you giving you his best and making sure that you are going to do your best, the only way you can pay him back is bringing your best too.
“We only talk about boxing when we are in the gym. He’s my trainer there, but as soon as we finish our training session, he’s my friend,” he said.
It will be no easy task for Cotto when he steps in against Australian Geale who is a former two-time world champion and looking to bounce back to the top in spectacular fashion following his defeat to Kazakh hitman Gennady Golovkin last year.
“This is a huge opportunity and I’m very excited. We’re so excited as a team that this fight is taking place. We’ve put a great training camp in for this fight and I’m feeling as good as I ever have,” said Geale.
“There’s no excuses. I’m going in as the best fighter I can possibly be. I’m hoping Miguel Cotto is the best fighter he can be as well. I want the fans to enjoy a great fight and I believe it will be a great fight.
“I can’t wait to walk away with another title. I’m going in very confident and I know a lot of people aren’t giving me much of a chance, but I have a huge amount of confidence in myself knowing I’ve completed a great training camp.”
Cotto vs Geale is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky437/490HD, Virgin 525, TalkTalk 415) this Saturday night. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.
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