After losing unanimously to Floyd Mayweather in the “fight of the century”, Manny Pacquiao blamed one thing for his loss; his shoulder.
Manny Pacquiao said a right shoulder injury prevented him from fighting at his best in his loss to Floyd Mayweather.
Nevada officials also denied Pacquiao’s request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight Saturday night.
The chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission said the ruling was Pacquiao’s fault for not mentioning his injury sooner.
“It’s part of the game,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t want to make alibis or complain or anything … [but] it’s hard to fight one-handed.”
Pacquiao, trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum were vague on the details of the injury but confirmed they considered postponing the bout a few weeks ago.
“I thought he fought a courageous fight under all the circumstances, and I’m very proud of what he accomplished tonight,” Arum said.
Arum said Pacquiao’s camp thought he would be allowed to have an anti-inflammatory shot because he had similar treatment during training.
The shots also had been approved by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Francisco Aguilar, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said the Pacquiao team did not disclose the injury until Saturday night, so the requests for permission to take the shot and to have a personal doctor in Pacquiao’s corner were denied.
“We were not aware of his injury until tonight at 6:30,” said Aguilar, who made the ruling. “The medications he was taking were disclosed on his medical questionnaire, but not the actual injury. … This isn’t our first fight. This is our business. There is a process, and when you try to screw with the process, it’s not going to work for you.
