By Shaun Campbell: So it seems all that Manny Pacquiao will be facing Antonio Margarito for the WBC junior-middleweight title sometime later in the year. Pacquiao, who won his first title at flyweight, will be at his heaviest weight ever when he steps into the ring against Margarito. The puzzling thing for the Pacquiao camp is how do they get a man who walks around at about 10 stone 9, to enter the ring, after an 8 week training camp in the scorching heat of Los Angeles Wild Card Gym, to weigh around 11 stone for the weigh in?

Yes, it is likely that the fight will be made at a catch weight, but even if this is the case Pacquiao will still have to add more muscle mass to his 5ft 7 frame. What is worrying for the Filipino fans is that in the Pac Man’s last contest against Joshua Clottey, he didn’t look as quick as we have become accustomed to seeing in his performances. The truth is that Pacquiao is not a natural welterweight. The most comfortable weight for him is likely to be in the light-welterweight division, a weight he has not fought at since knocking out Ricky Hatton last year. Before that fight, trainer Freddie Roach admitted that 140 pounds was Pacquiao’s “perfect weight”. The problem is, the big fights are not in that division. With all due respect to Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander and Amir Khan, they just don’t command big PPV numbers.

There is nothing I would like more than to see Manny take another world title at another weight. It would be brilliant for boxing. But Margarito is not a lesser fighter who’s just getting in the ring to be knocked over. The pressure that he will put on the Filipino is like nothing he will have experienced before. This is a man who forced Miguel Cotto to take a knee and quit.

However, the boxing ability undoubtedly lies with Pacquiao, but this is by no means a formality, as he will have to work hard to get the win. But arguably the pound for pound king will be expected to overcome the relentless Margarito. The argument for Margarito’s fans is that if Pacquiao has looked slower in his recent fights at welterweight, and they will argue he will be even less explosive at light-middleweight, and without speed, Pacquiao is losing his biggest asset. The weight will be put on in the correct way, as Pacquiao’s conditioning coach Alex Ariza is an expert at putting on muscle mass healthily. However, we have to wonder what the limit is. How heavy can Manny be and still be effective? It will be interesting to watch. My prediction is a close fight in which Manny Pacquiao will win by decision, but it will not be an easy nights work.