IT WAS certainly not love at first sight. In fact, several weeks before their May 8 title showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao has already earned the ire of Mexican world champion Juan Manuel Marquez – without really trying.
Appearing in a press conference at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, the GenSan-bred banger boldly declared that he considers Marquez not as a stumbling block but more of a stepping stone to a showdown with the more prominent Mexican Erik Morales.
“First Marquez, then (Erik) Morales,” Pacquiao said, smiling sheepishly.
The remark, of course, didn’t sit well with Marquez, the 30-year old featherweight with an impressive ring record of 42-2 (win-loss) and 33 stoppages who officially holds two world title belts — the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) crowns.
