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 It's a lot to handle, but Pacquiao was a picture of serenity and
confidence as he smiled and waved to a mostly Filipino crowd
attending the weigh-in on Saturday at The Venetian casino in Macau.
The WBO international welterweight title is the official prize, but
for this fight is about so much more for Pacquiao.
Coming off consecutive losses — the most recent a devastating
knockout at the hands of Juan-Manuel Marquez almost a year ago —
Pacquiao has been written off by many as a fading star whose days as
the world's pound-for-pound champion are gone for good. It's been
four years since he stopped an opponent, and favorable comparisons
with Floyd Mayweather Jr. seem like distant memories.
Long-time trainer Freddie Roach has upped the stakes by saying
Pacquiao should retire if he does not perform up to expectations in
Macao.
If that pressure was not enough, Pacquiao must also deal with the
turmoil back in the Philippines, which is struggling with the impact
of this month's devastating typhoon.
He is much more than just a winning fighter in his home country. He
has transcended the sport to take on the status of national icon,
and represents the Sarangani province in the country's House of
Representatives.
 When the typhoon hit, Pacquiao was already in training in General
Santos city and it was hard for him to resist pleas to leave camp to
help out and raise morale in the disaster zone.
After consultations with Roach and other trusted advisers, Pacquiao
made the tough decision to stay in training camp with the aim of
delivering a victory that would raise national morale.
Reminders of the typhoon surrounded him at the weigh-in, with fans
waving banners referencing the storm, and others shouting out in
Tagalog for Pacquiao to "Do it for Tacloban!" — the city worst-hit
by the storm.
"I'm doing my best to give a good fight and to win the fight,
especially with what happened to my countrymen and what happened to
the Philippines with the typhoon," said Pacquiao, who turns 35 on
Dec. 17. "To all the people and families affected by this storm,
this fight is for you."
Roach, who has been supremely confident of victory in public and
thereby doing his part to rebuild confidence in his fighter after
the Marquez defeat, said the national disaster had genuinely stirred
Pacquiao despite his outward calm.
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"Winning the fight is going to do more for the
country than anything in the world," Roach said. "His goal is to
win the fight for them, for his people, and that's what makes
Manny tick.
"I hate to say the typhoon was a good thing, I don't want to say
that, it was tragic. But Manny will fight for his people and
that's what's going to motivate him to win this fight."
Pacquiao will receive a reported $18 million for this
pay-per-view fight, five times the purse Rios will receive, with
that disparity reflecting the underdog status of the American,
raised in Kansas and now fighting out of the gym of Robert
Garcia in Oxnard, Calif.
Both fighters made weight on Saturday morning. Weighing in at
the unusual time of 7:30 a.m., Pacquiao was at 145 pounds while
Rios was 146.5.
Rios is coming off his first professional loss in the rematch
against Mike Alvarado but the former lightweight champion is
still on the rise, aged 27, and with a height, reach and likely
punching-power advantage over Pacquiao.
"They think I'm no problem but I'm going to be a huge problem,"
Rios said. "Everyone thinks I'm a tuneup fight; I'm nobody's
tuneup fight and nobody's punching bag.
"In the past when Manny hurt you he would finish you and that
could be wearing off a little bit. I'm here to test him, and I'm
not going to let him forget that knockout against Marquez."
Timothy Bradley, whose highly contentious points decision over
Pacquiao preceded the Marquez defeat, said Pacquiao likely would
be more than Rios can handle.
"I've been in the ring with this guy and what's special about
him is that he throws combinations and every shot is a death
blow," Bradley said. "Rios is a big puncher and I know he comes
to fight but he's a tad too slow for Pacquiao."
The undercard begins at 8 a.m. local time (7 p.m. ET on
Saturday) with the main event expected to begin around three
hours later.
[Associated
Press; CHRIS LINES, AP Sports Writer]
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