By Rick Reeno

Nacho Beristain, the trainer and manager of WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, believes Antonio Margarito had struggled with weight as he prepared for the recent twelve round loss to Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao-Margarito, which took place on November 13, was fought at a catch-weight of 150-pounds. Margarito weighed in at 150, but came in at 165-pounds on the day of the fight.

Nacho agrees with the logic of Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. The more Margarito weighed, the slower he became in the ring. Pacquiao weighed in at 144.6 and came to the ring at 148. He kept his weight very slow in order to preserve his speed advantage.

"I think his trainers weren't careful. They didn't manage his weight right because he went up 15-pounds the next day and it made a lot bigger but also a lot slower," Beristain told BoxingScene.com.

Marquez would later tell BoxingScene that he wasn't surprised with Pacquiao's dominating performance against a much larger Margarito.

"I said one month before the fight, that Pacquiao would be too fast for him because Margarito is slow. Margarito was too big [in weight] and it made him even slower," Marquez said.

Marquez defends his titles against mandatory challenger Michael Katsidis on Satruday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. If he wins, a third fight with Pacquiao is a top priority. Nacho told BoxingScene that a reasonable catch-weight would fall around 144-pounds, but they are not ruling out a third fight at the full welterweight limit of 147.

"I think 143, 144 would be good. But we would discuss 147," Beristain said.