By Jhonny Gonzalez
Former three division champion Erik Morales said that he expects WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to give Juan Manuel Marquez a beating on November 12 in Las Vegas. At one point, Morales was going to face Marquez in April, but the fight never happened. After Marquez walked away, Morales fought Marcos Maidana instead. Maidana won a close majority decision.
Now Morales is searching for an August opponent. He was unable to reach an agreement with WBA champion Amir Khan, and claims Maidana wanted too much money for a rematch. Morales has a long-term goal of being able to fight Pacquiao for a fourth time. After beating Pacquiao the first time, the Filipino boxer came back to knock Morales out in their next two meetings.
"Maidana, he just doesn't want to fight me. We made an offer to Amir Khan but we couldn't close [the deal] because they wanted to fight in July and I asked for August. I could not fight in July," Morales told Ricardo Juarez. "I can assure you that I much better than I was in the past because now I'm a more complete fighter and experience is very important."
"I took an important step with Maidana and I want more, and then the people will know that there really is a chance [of facing Pacquiao]. [In the Pacquiao fight], I see Márquez being weary and getting very physically hurt, but anything can happen in boxing so we have to wait for the fight."