BOAXING: Roach fights own battle as he preps Pacquiao

Las Vegas (AFP) - Freddie Roach, the trainer who has prepared Manny Pacquiao to step into the ring against Floyd Mayweather for the biggest fight of his life, wages his own constant war against Parkinson's Disease.

The strategy in his personal battle is simple”. "The first thing is not to lay down and die. It's not always easy, however” , Roach said Thursday.

But as Pacquiao's long-awaited showdown with Mayweather loomed, Roach told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper last week that the effects of the illness -- and the medication used to keep it in check -- had contributed to suicidal thoughts.

The seven-time winner of US boring’s Trainer of the Year award has seen it all as a cornerman to the world's greatest fighters. But, his partnership with Pacquiao has added an extra dimension to his Hall of Fame career.

They teamed up in 2001, when little-known Pacquiao needed a place to train in the United States and tried Roach's modest Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

Roach's relationship with Pacquiao has evolved as well, from a father figure in the early days to their current close friendship. Saturday's bout will be the culmination of that partnership -- a fight the two have been planning and strategizing for more than five years. Roach has painstakingly studied fight films, pinpointing potential Mayweather weaknesses to exploit and priming Pacquiao to do so.