MANNY PACQUIAO WILL put his boxing career on the line when he enters the ring for Sunday’s bout against Brandon Rios. He also will be representing a nation stricken by disaster.

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 favourable 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 next month. “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.

“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, California.

Both fighters made weight on Saturday morning. Weighing in at the unusual time of 7:30 am, 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 tune-up fight; I’m nobody’s tune-up fight and nobody’s punching bag.

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