CALM BEFORE THE STORM He may have lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and could face sanctions from boxing officials for failing to disclose an injury before the fight, but Manny Pacquiao appears unfazed in his hotel room despite an injured shoulder that had his arm in a sling. This photo, posted on the Top Rank Manny Pacquiao Fan Page, earned almost 200K likes, with “get well soon” comments in English, Filipino, Spanish and even in Cebuano. PHOTO GRAB FROM TOP RANK BOXING TWITTER ACCOUNT
LOS ANGELES— Manny Pacquiao could face disciplinary action from Nevada boxing officials for failing to disclose a shoulder injury before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Apparently still bothered by a throbbing pain that affected his performance against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last weekend, Pacquiao went to Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles on Monday to seek medical treatment.
As it turned out, an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan confirmed he had sustained a tear on his right shoulder rotator cuff and that he needs to undergo surgery.
The surgery will be done any time this week and so Pacquiao’s return home, originally set for Wednesday, will have to wait. His scheduled next fight in November is also a no-go.
“It still hurts, especially if I raise my hand,” Pacquiao told his public information officer. “I’m not really feeling that well.”
After the surgery, Pacquiao has to rest for five to six weeks without strenuous activities. In total, he’s expected to be out of commission from nine months to a year.
The ever optimist Pacquiao, however, believes he would heal in five to six months.
“We have an MRI scan that confirms he has a rotator cuff tear. He has a significant tear,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache told ESPN.com.
“After examination, It was determined that the best method and approach is for Manny to have surgery,” Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, said.
While Pacquiao can bear with the shoulder pain, he’s hurting inside. No matter the reason, he failed in his quest to defeat Mayweather, losing to the unbeaten American by a 12-round unanimous decision.
No longer fiery
Clearly, however, Pacquiao was far from his usual fiery form when he tangled with Mayweather.
The 429 punches Pacquiao threw were the fewest in his 20-year ring career for a 12-round fight. Pacquiao only landed 81 punches, also his least ever.
It was only during the post-fight conference that Pacquiao’s injury was revealed.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) chair, Francisco Aguilar, revealed that the NSAC had denied Pacquiao’s request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his shoulder in his dressing room because there was no formal request and it was made too late—just two hours before the title showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Injury suffered April 4
Chief trainer Freddie Roach disclosed that Pacquiao sustained the injury on April 4 while throwing a right hook and his arms then got entangled with those of his sparring partner.
They had the injury examined on April 6 and found out about the tear. They did not disclose the injury right away, hoping it would heal. Fact is, they canceled sparring for one week, under the guise that Pacquiao was peaking too soon.
Top Rank Promotions chief honcho Bob Arum claimed the NSAC was informed of the injury and that the Pacquiao side had filed a request that Pacquiao be allowed to receive anti-inflammatory shots. The numbing agents had been approved by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), which had conducted random testing on both fighters.
Aguilar justified the NSAC’s decision to junk Pacquiao’s request, saying that although the medications he was taking were stated in his medical questionnaire, the Pacquiao side failed to list the actual injury.
Fine or suspension
According to Koncz, he was the one who answered the questionnaire and had made the omission.
Apart from the painkillers, the NSAC also prevented Pacquiao from bringing in energy drinks and his own water.
Aguilar said Pacquiao could be fined or suspended by the commission for not answering the question correctly in the form before the weigh-in on Friday.
As to why Arum did not request for a postponement, the 83-year-old promoter said that Pacquiao got well enough to fight but he re-incurred the injury, dooming his chances against Mayweather.
Joint statement
On Monday, Top Rank and Pacquiao issued a statement to clarify their position.
The statement said: “During training, Manny Pacquiao suffered a right shoulder injury. Manny went to see world-class doctors, partners in the prestigious Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic, who performed tests and, in consultation with Manny, his promoter, and his advisors, concluded that with short rest, treatments and close monitoring, Manny could train and, on May 2, step into the ring against Floyd Mayweather.”
The statement added: “Manny’s advisors notified Usada of the shoulder injury and the treatments being proposed by the doctors during training and on fight night. Usada spoke to Manny’s doctors twice, investigated, and confirmed in writing that the proposed treatments, if used, were completely allowed. The medication approved for fight night was a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (Toradol).
“Manny continued to train and his shoulder improved, though not 100 percent. This is boxing, injuries happen, and Manny is a warrior … Manny decided to proceed with the fight anticipating that he could receive his pre-fight treatment. That specific treatment had been approved by Usada at least five days before the fight.”
Information came too late
The statement said that a few hours before he was expected to step in the ring, “the Nevada commission stopped the treatment because it said it was unaware of Manny’s shoulder injury.
“This was disappointing to Team Pacquiao since they had disclosed the injury and treatment to Usada (and) Usada approved the treatments.”
A copy of the questionnaire was posted on Monday on the https://true.ink/boxing/ website where Aguilar confirmed that Pacquiao faced possible sanctions from the state attorney general’s office for filling out a state form incorrectly.
“It’s something we’re looking at, and an issue we’ll be discussing with the attorney general,” said Aguilar. “Boxers are tough, and it’s our job often to protect them from themselves.”
‘We will gather all facts’
The fact that Pacquiao did not disclose his injury until the night of the fight could also lead to possible lawsuits from boxing fans, who felt cheated after paying record sums for either tickets or pay-per-view (PPV).
Aguilar said the state attorney general’s office will look at why Pacquiao checked “no” a day before the fight on a commission questionnaire asking if he had a shoulder injury.
“We will gather all the facts and follow the circumstances,” Aguilar said. “At some point we will have some discussion. As a licensee of the commission you want to make sure fighters are giving you up-to-date information.”
Pacquiao’s promoter put out a statement saying the injury was disclosed to Usada, which approved the use of an anti-inflammatory shot for the fight.
But Usada was only a third party to the fight, charged only with testing the fighters for banned substances in training and the night of the bout.
“We had no medical information, no MRIs, no documents,” said Travis Tygart, who heads Usada. “It was not an anti-doping issue. The real question is why his camp checked ‘no’ on the disclosure. Either they made a terrible mistake to not follow the rules or they were trying not to give information to the other side. I’m not sure there’s a middle ground.”
Tygart said his agency, which was hired by promoters to oversee drug testing for the bout, was contacted April 7 asking about the use of various substances and whether they were allowed under anti-doping rules. He said there was another call 10 days later asking about using a different substance, again for what the USADA was told was an unspecified shoulder problem.–AP with a report from Roy Luarca in Los Angeles
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