Bob Arum. AP FILE PHOTO
With lawsuits piling up against Manny Pacquiao, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said his top fighter was “100 percent” for the much ballyhooed welterweight fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May 2.
Until, as Arum told BoxingScene.com, Pacquiao re-injured his right shoulder in the fourth round.
“The last week, as predicted by the doctor, the shoulder was fine. Manny was sparring the last two weeks, sparring well,” Arum said. “It wasn’t until the end of the fourth round that Manny’s shoulder was re-injured, but going into the fight Manny was 100 percent.”
Pacquiao faces up to 32 lawsuits from fans, saying the eight-division World Champion should have disclosed his injury before the fight. The lawsuits, which were filed in different American states, say fans may have decided not to pay the $89 or $99 pay-per-view fight if they knew Pacquiao was injured.
Mayweather won the fight against Pacquiao in a unanimous decision victory to unify the WBO, WBC, and WBA Welterweight titles.
Arum also denied that they were trying to hide Pacquiao’s injury from Mayweather’s camp as they agreed to drug tests being administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
BoxingScene.com said the USADA was told about Pacquiao’s injury when the Filipino’s camp requested medication for the right shoulder.
“Mayweather has used USADA for all of his fights, so the fact that it was completely revealed to USADA shows that there was no attempt to conceal from anyone,” Arum said. “It was unfortunate that USADA didn’t pass the information along to the [Nevada] commission. The idea that Manny would conceal a shoulder injury, but then ask the commission to get a numbing shot in the dressing room is absurd.”