Pacquiao perks up US cancer patient

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao took time out from his hectic training schedule to visit with an American teenager who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumour. Eight division world champion Pacquiao spent 15 minutes with 18-year-old John Rocero and his parents Thursday at the MGM Grand Garden arena. The meeting was arranged through the American Make-A-Wish Foundation which Pacquiao is more than willing to assist. Pacquiao prayed with the family, including Rocero's father, Roy, who was born in the Philippines. The family is from Stockton, California, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) northwest of Las Vegas. John, who will attend Saturday's welterweight fight between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, presented the boxer a Pacquiao portrait painted by his sister. John is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation after being diagnosed last year with the tumour. Pacquiao has visited several young people through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.