Boxing:Manny Pacquiao will not let the problems caused by typhoons in his native Philippines distract him from the task of defeating Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas next month, according to his trainer Freddie Roach.
Pacquiao, a folk hero with political aspirations in his homeland, was training on home soil for his November 14 showdown with Puerto Rico's welterweight champion Cotto when typhoons hit the islands, killing more than 700 people and making more than six million homeless.
The boxer, who became many people's pound for pound champion following his devastating knockout of England's Ricky Hatton on May 2, visited some of the worst-hit areas around the capital Manila and distributed food and supplies to some of those affected by the typhoon.
With Pacquiao now back at Roach's Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California, the American trainer on Wednesday said that though the sights took their toll on Pacquiao it would not stop his fighter knocking out WBO champion Cotto.
"It left him mentally drained and very sad, naturally," Roach said during a Wednesday conference call from Los Angeles. "But, once we got in the gym, he put it aside.
"Manny is able to put that side of real life aside when he gets into the gym.
"I feel Manny, the way he's punching right now, with the power that's there at this weight, he's going to knock Cotto out.
"I'm very confident and I look forward to the win."
Roach downplayed scenes shot by HBO for their 24/7 reality show on the fight build-up which showed the trainer threatening to leave their Philippines training camp in Baguio as another typhoon was forecast if Pacquiao did not come with him to a safer area.
"I was concerned for the safety of the sparring partners, Manny's crew, Manny and myself and very concerned the typhoon was going to come quicker than it did," Roach said.
"Manny was more relaxed about it and so I said 'Manny, I'll be waiting for you in Manila'.
"I was just trying to get him motivated to go and then that night at midnight he got motivated, he called me up and said 'let's go'.
"So we left at midnight and went back to Manila."
There were also bumps in the road for Roach in the capital city.
"The last week in Manila was a little bit difficult because we had so many politicians there, trying to make meetings with Manny and everybody was trying to pull him in every direction they could.
"So Manila wasn't that great for us."
Pacquiao now, though, was back to his sharpest, the trainer said, now he had returned to Los Angeles to finish his camp at the Wild Card.
"He was distracted in Manila and our last day of boxing there I was really disappointed, he didn't do that well. His mind was just somewhere else.
"Then we got to LA and he boxed yesterday. We still had a bit of jet lag and I didn't really expect a great day from Manny, he looked a little tired in his eyes, but he gave me 10 great rounds, he's back on track and he's very close to being ready for the fight."
Pacquiao agreed, adding: "I feel I'm in 100% condition and I'm excited for the fight. I can't wait for November 14. I'm looking forward to a good fight because our styles are kind of similar."