Manny Pacquiao stated that his right shoulder prevented him from fighting his best fight against Floyd Mayweather. Nevada officials denied Pacquiao's request for an anti-inflammatory shot prior to the fight on Saturday night.
The shot would have taken place in the dressing room. "It's part of the game, I don't want to make alibis or complain or anything, it's hard to fight one handed." Pacquiao stated.
Apparently the injury was so bad both Bob Arum and Freddie Roach considered postponing the bout a couple of weeks ago.
"I thought he fought a courageous fight under all the circumstances, and I'm very proud of what he accomplished tonight," Arum stated.
The Nevada Athletic Commission alluded to the fact that the injury was not disclosed until Saturday night, so the request was denied.
Athletes always fight hurt," Arum stated. "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 with sports. You get guys injured in training. He then deals with the injury, he thinks he's conquered it, and then he gets reinjured in the game. It happens in football. It happens in any sport."
It sounded like the right hook was going to be a big part of the Pacquiao arsenal against Mayweather. "It was a very close fight. We'd love to do it again, but hopefully that's in the future," stated Roach. Let's hope not.
