By John F. McKenna (McJack): It has been well publicized over the last few days at how much muscle WBO/ WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KO’s) at 38 years old has packed on since he began training for his upcoming fight with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) two months ago.

To read about it is one thing, but to view the before and after pictures of Marquez is stunning. The Marquez camp took on strength training coach Angel Hernandez to help prepare Juan for his November 12 showdown with Pacquiao. The problem is that Angel Hernandez was formerly known as Angel Heredia, the same Angel Heredia who was formerly involved with the BALCO scandal back in 2005. Heredia testified that he had supplied performance enhancing drugs (PEDS) to professional athletes. In return for his testimony against the bigger fish in the scandal, Heredia escaped prison time. The bottom line is that Heredia now going by the Alias Hernandez suffered no repercussions for admittedly distributing PEDS to professional athletes and here he is again working with professional athletes in 2011.

In 2009 when Marquez faced Floyd Mayweather Jr at welterweight he appeared bloated. Recent pictures show “El Dinamita” with a muscular physique and looking nothing like the fighter who faced Mayweather in 2009. Of course the question being asked is how did Marquez transform his body so quickly? He trained hard for Mayweather in 2009 but did not pack on the kind of muscle that is so obvious in recent pictures.

Of course Pacquiao’s detractors have long questioned how he was able to add so much muscle. But strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza is quick to point out that Manny added his muscle over a period of years.

When Pacquiao began his professional career at the age of 17 he weighed about 106 pounds. Today 15 years later he fights at 145 pounds. So in essence Manny gained nearly 40 pounds in 15 years. One must also keep in mind that when Pacquiao was 17 years old he had recently come off the streets in his impoverished homeland of the Philippines. Once he was exposed to good nutrition and training it only stands to reason that he was going to add muscle.

When muscle is added gradually as in the case of Manny Pacquiao it is easier for a conditioning coach like Alex Ariza to gauge his performance over time. Marquez’ added muscle on the other hand came quickly and it is unknown how his body will respond to the added muscle. Boxing is unlike any other sport. It’s not like hitting a baseball out of the park and trotting around the bases, after which you can rest on the bench. Boxing is a much more strenuous sport. There are no timeouts in the middle of the round.

Marquez may have added strength for a period of time. But there is no way to gauge his performance over a number of rounds until he steps into the ring with a fighter who is trying to take him out as Manny Pacquiao will surely be attempting to do.