Manny Pacquiao blamed a shoulder injury for his defeat by Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, claiming it stopped him from using his right hand.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”s33Mb3ptc7vKuplsbG2eNAgnD4wZdTnG”]American Mayweather, 38, outclassed his Philippine rival at the MGM Grand and was awarded a wide unanimous decision. Pacquiao, 36, said he thought he did enough to win the fight, despite most observers agreeing with the verdict. \u201cThree weeks before the fight I got a tear in my right shoulder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt got better but it wasn\u2019t 100%.\u201d Mayweather started the brighter of the two and rocked Pacquiao with a number of right hand counter punches in the early exchanges. The Filipino came back at the American in the fourth round, stunning Mayweather with a left hand and again in the sixth round but was never able to back it up and Mayweather ran out a comfortable winner on the judges scorecards.<\/p>\n
Pacquiao said he wanted to have an injection in the shoulder before the fight but the Nevada Athletic Commission refused. Pacquiao\u2019s promoter, Bob Arum, claimed he informed the Commission of the injury five days ago and defended the decision not to cancel the fight, the most lucrative in boxing history.<\/p>\n
\u201cAthletes always fight hurt and we felt the work that was done on the shoulder during training would enable him to use his right hand,\u201d said Arum.<\/p>\n
Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar said he first knew about the injury two hours before the fight, when Pacquiao\u2019s camp requested a doctor sit in his corner, a request that was denied.<\/p>\n
Mayweather, meanwhile, said he was carrying injuries to both arms and hands. \u201cIf he had come out victorious, I would have shown respect and said he was the better man,\u201d he said, after adding Pacquiao\u2019s WBO welterweight belt to the WBC and WBA titles he already owned.<\/p>\n
Mayweather, a five-weight world champion, also criticised those who doubted him, telling them he had made them \u201ceat their words\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years everyone said that I was scared and that I\u2019d lose,\u201d said Mayweather, who is undefeated in 48 professional fights stretching back 19 years. \u201cI made the non-believers into believers. I was the better man, the smarter fighter \u2013 more calculated, more patient. He was applying pressure but not landing many punches and I was just keeping my jab in his face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayweather, who said he was presented with a cheque for $100m (\u00a366m) in his dressing room after the fight, also revealed he planned to relinquish his titles and that his final bout in September would be a non-championship fight. As well as the welterweight belts, Mayweather is also the WBC light-middleweight champion.<\/p>\n
Asked if his last fight might be against Britain\u2019s Amir Khan, Mayweather replied: \u201cI\u2019m not thinking about that. All I want to do right now is go home and rest.\u201d Mayweather\u2019s father and trainer, Floyd Sr, criticised those who booed him before and after the fight. \u201cMy son should be treated better,\u201d said Mayweather Sr.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying it bothers him but if I was in his shoes, it would bother me. \u201cHe\u2019s paying the price for being honest and for being too good. When these guys are throwing punches and he\u2019s making them miss, people call that boring. \u201cThey don\u2019t know boxing, that\u2019s the problem.\u201d
\n–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manny Pacquiao blamed a shoulder injury for his defeat by Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, claiming it stopped him from using his right hand. [contextly_sidebar id=”s33Mb3ptc7vKuplsbG2eNAgnD4wZdTnG”]American Mayweather, 38, outclassed his Philippine rival at the MGM Grand and was awarded a wide unanimous decision. Pacquiao, 36, said he thought he did enough to win the fight, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":113474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[3,38],"yoast_head":"\n