Image and video hosting by TinyPic Pacquiao-Cotto Being Pushed By WBO as Title Bout

Francisco "Paco" Valcárcel, president of the WBO, is attempting to get the proposed bout, between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, approved as a welterweight title fight. Paco has asked the WBO's board to place Pacquiao in the number one position for the bout with Cotto, the current WBO champion, and sanction it as a title fight - if the two sides finalize the November 14 showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The move to place Pacquiao in the number one spot will raise some issues with some of the other contenders in the rankings, but it really doesn't matter because if Pacquiao wins the crown, it's likely that he will return to 140-pounds and not stick around 147 - unless he decides to defend the title against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2010. If Pacquiao wins and then vacates the title, the two highest contenders below him will face off for the vacant belt.

"I made a request to the committee to place Pacquiao in the number one position for the fight for Cotto's title," said Paco to Primera Hora . "I've already spoke with Bob Arum [promoter of Cotto and Pacquiao] and agreed the fight will be for the title."

Gabriel Peñagarícano, the legal advisor for Cotto, spoke to the paper and said the title being at stake is one of the points being negotiated by both sides.

"Miguel's title is part of the negotiations that are still ongoing," Peñagarícano said. "It will be one of the aspects to consider during the fight discussions. [There are people] saying the agreement is signed, that's not true. The only thing we agreed on is the fight being at 145-pounds."