By Rick Reeno

Angel “Memo” Hernandez, the strength and conditioning coach of Juan Manuel Marquez, has advised BoxingScene.com that a lawsuit for defamation was filed against Victor Conte, claiming the well-known nutritionist defamed his reputation and character in the public.

"There is a lawsuit pending, a lawsuit against him. That's why I can't comment too much on it. We filed the lawsuit. I don't know exactly where it's going to be [as far as the court]. The lawsuit will be in the United States. I wish he was here so I could see him [face to face] but he's not," Hernandez told BoxingScene.com.

Conte recently revealed, through his Twitter account, that Hernandez is the former Angel Heredia. As the government’s star witness in the infamous BALCO doping cases, Heredia testified before a San Francisco court in May of 2008 that he had sold banned substances—namely EPO, growth hormone and steroids—to Olympic sprinters like Marion Jones.

Conte, the former head of the BALCO Lab, ended up serving four months in prison for his role in orchestrating the steroid distribution scandal.

"It makes me laugh because the guy is just a hypocrite. The guy has not only been convicted but he's also a liar. It's obvious he's jealous of me. I guess he feels because I'm being a part of boxing today, that I'm going to be his competition, again. His athletes could end up being mine, and he knows that I have a background [in this and an] education. He doesn't have a degree. He's always been jealous. And even before he was talking about me, he was always talking about [conditioning coach] Alex Ariza and always talking about Manny [Pacquiao]," Hernandez said.

Marquez challenges Manny Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight title on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.