Pacquiao fought Mayweather with injured right shoulder
by PSR News Bureau
Manny Pacquiao said a right shoulder injury prevented him from fighting at his best in his loss to Floyd Mayweather. “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.
Arum said, “Athletes always fight hurt. We felt that the work that was done on the shoulder during training would give him the opportunity to use the right hand. We were disappointed when in the third round, the injury kicked up again, but this is always the case in sports. You get guys injured in training. He then deals with the injury, Manny thinks he’s conquered it, and then he gets reinjured in the game. It happens in any sport. Manny fought a courageous fight under all circumstances, and I’m very proud of what he had accomplished.”
Pacquio got hurt some time after mid-March, and Arum said the injury was “the same as the one Kobe Bryant had.” It will be recalled that Bryant tore his rotator cuff in January during the end season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I did my best but I guess it just wasn’t good enough. It was a good 12 rounds. I fought a good fight. Anyway I’d like to thanks the people who came to see the fight,” said Pacquiao.
At first, Pacquiao thought that he had won the fight. He even had to review the tape of the fight “to see what had really transpired in their colossal battle for pride, glory, and money that Saturday night.”
With one good hand, Pacquiao became an easier target for Mayweather, who sneaked in punches to prevent Manny from launching a full-blown attack in the seventh round. From the second to the fourth round, Pacquiao had the better of Mayweather, who was still trying to figure him out. Mayweather touted as one of boxing’s best counterpunchers and tacticians, found loopholes in Pacquiao’s defense, and the fight took a downturn for the Filipino boxing icon. Pacquiao admitted that during the fight, his right shoulder hurt when he threw a lot of punches and combinations.
Mayweather reportedly swept the last six rounds, according to the three judges. Pacquiao, however, couldn’t believe that the bout was as lopsided—118-110, 116-112 and 116-112, all for Mayweather—as the judges’ scorecards showed. “I thought I caught him many times. I was never hurt. I was very surprised by the scores,” said Pacquiao.
Despite taking his sixth loss against 57 wins [38 by knockout] and two draws, being a good sport that he is, Pacquiao said, “I’m very happy with the result. I know I fought a good fight. I cannot use my right hand a lot, but it’s still good. It’s still there.”
Pacquiao even gave lauded Mayweather for the fight, witnessed by a packed crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena. “He’s fast. He’s a good boxer. Give the credit to him. He won the fight.”
Roach was proud of his fighter’s persistence through injury but frustrated with Pacquiao’s inability to implement his game plan, particularly his inability to throw a right hook.
“It was a very close fight,” Roach said. “We’d love to do it again, but hopefully that’s in the future.“
