By Glen Anglin: Manny Pacquiao has fooled me before. Each time he moved up in weight, I thought he was probably asking too much of himself and his body. However, each time I was surprised by the ability of Manny to handle larger and larger opponents. First was came Barrera, Morales and Marquez at 130/135. Then came Diaz at 140. And finally De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto at 140+. You can quibble with the condition of each of these guys at the time that they fought the Filipino Phenom, but , other than Diaz, you cannot deny that they are all boxing HOF candidates.

As I have said before, it is not so much that Pacquiao beat all these guys, but HOW he beat them that is surprising. Barerra was thought of as a pound for pound great in his prime when Pacquiao decked him and stopped him in their first match. The close first loss to Morales(no shame there) was followed by two convincing beat downs over the Tijuana Tornado. Marquez can stake a legitimate claim to be ranked higher than Manny on the P4P list, and he was fought evenly twice by Manny, losing one and drawing another. Diaz was reduced to a bleeding, swelling gargoyle by Manny’s flashing fists. De la Hoya was cowering in his corner like a whipped puppy at the end of his humiliation at the hands of Pacquiao. After taking way too many clean right hooks, Hattan was knocked as cold as a London mailbox with a horrifying left cross in less than 2 rounds. Then came the slow-but-sure 12 round destruction of Cotto, a legit, full sized and powerful welterweight.

I will not address the dunces who try to denigrate Manny’s success by complaining about catch weights(you would think Manny invented the catchweight) or baseless PED accusations coming from the thugs in the Mayweather ‘family’. For any dispassionate observer, Pacquiao’s accomplishments stand on their own. He may not be the greatest fighter who ever lived, but he is an outstanding, all action, small/medium weight boxer who has racked up an eye-popping resume of ring victories.

However, I believe that MP should fight at 140 and that ranging above 140 pounds is risky for him. The guys above that weight are naturally larger framed than he and eventually that size difference will cause him problems if they catch Manny on an off day. And so, once again Manny has contracted for a match-up that makes me think that he may have bitten off more than even he can chew. Antonio Margarito is a big guy at 145, big and tough, but not particularly fast. He is a busy brawler with decent pop in his fists. How many of his victories are tarnished by the revelation that his hands were illegally packed for his loss to Mosley is up to question. (By the way, I think Margarito and his trainer should receive LIFETIME bans from boxing for this dangerous form of cheating).

However, even without plaster of paris on his wraps, Margarito is a tall order for Pacquiao. Margarito is not an all time great (6 or 7 losses), but he might present a difficult package to the shorter, aging Pacquiao. If he can stand and bang with Manny while staying just out of range of return fire, then he has a tall man’s chance to beat him.

All that said I would never, EVER bet against the Pacman. Manny Pacquiao is truly special in the boxing ring, and if his past ability to prove my opinions wrong holds true, he will win again easily.