Manny Pacquiao aids typhoon victims

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Manny Pacquiao interrupted his training this past weekend to assist the recovery in his home country the Philippines, making a substantial financial donation and driving from his training camp to the disaster zone.

‘His training’s going well, but he’s very concerned for the people,’ Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, told The Times Monday night. ‘He had numerous people advising him not to go. Didn’t matter. He still went.’

Arum visited Pacquiao during the weekend to inspect his prized fighter with just over a month remaining before the Nov. 14 welterweight showdown with another Arum product, Miguel Cotto, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao was forced into spending the first half of his eight-week training session in the Philippines because of IRS alien residency issues, his advisors said. It ended up being a blessing in disguise for the former politicial candidate, who quickly announced a million-pesos donation ($20,000) to the recovery effort following last week’s Typhoon Ketsanas that poured a month of rain on Manila in one day and left an estimated 300 dead, according to various news reports.

Arum also donated $20,000.

Training on the northern end of the islands, Pacquiao opted to go a step further, against the wishes of his trainer Freddie Roach, said Arum. Following another typhoon that left 16 dead, the boxer left camp after his Saturday workout and had his driver take him on the 10-plus-hour round trip to Manila, where Pacquiao handed out food supplies to the needy, Arum said.

‘He drove back in time late Sunday to resume training,’ Arum said. ‘When Manny wants to do something, he does it.’

Arum said he was surprised to see Pacquiao train a bit sluggishly early in his visit. There was concern about this camp being temporarily uprooted from Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, but Arum says he’s not worried because Pacquiao still ‘works like an animal,’ and has assembled an impressive list of sparring partners including L.A.’s Urbano Antillon, former lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo and unbeaten junior middleweight Shawn Porter.

-- Lance Pugmire