Floyd Mayweather Jr. Vs. Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Reportedly Fought With An Injured Shouder, Denied Shot In Locker Room

Yesterday, May 2, the world finally found out who the best was out of legendary boxers, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. The match given the moniker of “Fight of the Century” wasn’t just highly anticipated, but was also a first for many reasons, as reported by the Inquisitr. It was the first time a venue’s tickets were all sold privately, though at most 500 tickets were supposed to be sold to the public (which never happened). It was also the first to have a weigh-in to charge admission (as a form of crowd control).

Summarized, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao was a fight that was highly hyped. After the dust from the battle settled, it would go down in history as the most overhyped yet underdelivered boxing match ever. And now, news — either it be true or speculative — is coming in on why Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao was disappointing, and one such report is that Pacquiao couldn’t deliver because he fought with an injured right shoulder. Not only that, Pacquiao was denied a shot in the locker room to help it.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Manny Pacquiao’s camp is claiming that Pacquiao suffered a right shoulder injury three to four weeks right before the fight. Pacquiao was allowed to take inflammatory shots, which were approved by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Yet, when Pacquiao arrived in the locker room of the MGM Grand just a little after 6 p.m., his request to have another shot taken prior to his match was denied.

Bob Arum, the promoter for Manny Pacquiao, said the injury Pacquiao suffered is the same one Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers suffered that ended his 2014-15 season. Pacquiao did rehab for his shoulder, but without the inflammatory shot, it started to bother him during the match, as explained by Arum.

“We felt the [rehabilitative] 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 sport… He heals the injury, thinks he’s conquered it and it flares up again.”

After the news of said right shoulder injury became public, other news sites investigated into the matter quickly. Bleacher Report writes that the Nevada Athletic Commission claims they never received a request until 6:30 p.m. PST and by that time, it was too late.

It should be reported the drugs Manny Pacquiao wanted to take were not performance-enhancing. They were a combination of Bupivacaine, Celestone and Lidocaine. Nevertheless, the fact that the drugs weren’t may have caused more damage to Pacquiao’s shoulder. From an anonymous source, Manny Pacquiao might need surgery which will in turn keep him out for up to nine months.

[Image via Chris Hyde / Stringer / Getty]