MANILA – While members of Team Pacquiao declared with certainty that the pound-for-pound king will knock out Miguel Cotto on November 14, Manny Pacquiao refused to predict the outcome of his “Firepower” bout.

“Mahirap magsabi nang tapos eh. Di naman natin alam anong mangyayari. Dasal lang tayo sa Lord. Ano man mangyari, idasal na lang natin kung mapabilis o mapaaga or... matapos yung round. Siya lang nakakaalam eh,” Pacquiao told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

He added: “Basta sa akin, training lang ako nang husto, dasal at pagkatiwala sa kaniya pagdating sa ring.”

Coach Freddie Roach said Pacquiao will KO Cotto in the first round. Conditioning coach Alex Ariza noted that Pacquiao can score a KO while adviser Mike Koncz said the KO would probably come in the later rounds.

Pacquiao is in Los Angeles, California where he will continue his training for two weeks. He started his training camp on Sept. 21 in Baguio City.

No oddity

According to “the People’s Champ,” he does not do anything strange when training for a fight, as opposed to his former rival Juan Manuel Marquez’s revelation that he drinks his urine.

If anything, the weight loss challenge which he started in 2008 could be counted as a “Pacquiao training camp tradition.”

“It’s postponed ‘til next year,” said Koncz, who bested 74 fellow participants in the weight loss challenge in April.

Each contestant was required to lose 10 percent of his or her body weight in 3 weeks for a cash prize of $3,000.

Pacquiao held weight challenges while training for his fights against Oscar de la Hoya in 2008 and Ricky Hatton in May.

Faith

But for Pacquiao, there is really nothing odd in his preparation for a fight.

“Kakaiba? Para sa akin, pray lang,” he said. “Nag-ro-rosary ako 9 days before the fight, straight yun, gabi-gabi. Nag-no-novena ako. Ako nag-le-lead nung prayer. Marami sa Team Pacquiao sumasali.”

“Dati matagal ko nang ginagawa yan... ginagawa ko yan tapos pagka araw ng fight, diba nagpapa-mass kami before the fight? Tapos after ng fight, win or lose yan, magpapa-mass din,” he related.

Pacquiao is aiming to win his 7th world title when he faces off with Cotto, the WBO welterweight champion, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The WBC diamond belt will also be at stake on Nov. 14.