Manny Pacquiao blames shoulder injury for poor showing against Floyd Mayweather Jr
04.05.2015 11:30
The Filipino superstar was outclassed by Mayweather, who cruised to a unanimous points victory at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
But Pacquiao, 36, claimed he picked up a shoulder injury around three weeks ago and was denied a pain-killing shot before the fight.
He said: "Three weeks before the fight, I stopped training and we went for an MRI.
"There is a tear in my right shoulder.
"In the third round I felt the pain in my shoulder. I had to back off when I threw a combination it hurt.
"The loss won’t bother me because I fought a good fight, I did my best.
"Even though I hurt my shoulder, I didn’t complain in the ring, it’s part of the game.”
Pacquiao’s injury occurred when he collided with a sparring partner preparing for the big fight.
He got permission from the United States Anti-doping Agency to take two pain killers – Lidocaine, Bupivacaine and Celestone.
But the Nevada Athletic Commission told Pacquiao’s camp they could not take an injection from a doctor prior to the fight because they did not disclose the injury on the permission form.
Pacquiao’s Promoter Bob Arum claimed they were told and was angry his fighter was not allowed take the shot.
Trainer Freddie Roach revealed they considered pulling him out of the fight.
He said: "We were thinking the shoulder was getting better and better.
"We thought at one time we might have to postpone the fight, but as the weeks went by it got better and better.”
Mayweather, 38, was not bothered about Pacquiao’s claim as he revealed he also suffered injuries in his training camp.
The American’s win added the WBO welterweight title to his WBC and WBA welterweight belts and WBC and WBA light-middleweight crowns.
But he plans to give them all up on Monday ahead of his final fight in September when he will look to equal Rocky Marciano’s 49-fight unbeaten record.
He said: "My last fight will still be a 12-round fight, but I will relinquish all the belts on Monday.
"I want to give other guys a chance. It’s time to let the other fighters fight for the belts.”
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(dailystar.co.uk)
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