Back in 2015 one of the biggest fights in boxing history took place. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally met inside the squared circle to unify the WBA, WBC, and WBO welterweight titles. Mayweather remained undefeated with a unanimous decision victory after 12 rounds of fighting.
Following the contest, it was revealed by Pacquiao that he was fighting with an injured shoulder that worsened over the course of the fight. Pacquiao’s coach, Freddie Roach, claims that the Mayweather camp knew about the injury heading into the contest.
There was apparently a backstage agreement that Mayweather could use a painkiller for his hands if Pacquiao was allowed to use one for his shoulder. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) prevented “Pac-Man” from doing so, however, as he did not disclose the shoulder injury in pre-fight medical documents.
Roach divulged on The Dan Patrick Show that he attempted to have the fight stopped, but was unsuccessful (via Boxing Scene):
“I didn’t try to stop that fight until I found out that the injury was that bad…. that the injury on his shoulder would need surgery to fix.
“So we were going to go into the fight with a bad shoulder, so we had an agreement that Mayweather could shoot his hands up, which he does often, because he has very fragile hands… so he uses a painkiller that he has in his hands so he can get to a fight, and we had [an agreement] that Manny could get a painkiller for his shoulder.
“But on the night of the fight, he was allowed to use it and we weren’t,” Roach said. “Yes, [Mayweather’s camp knew about the shoulder injury]. There was a lot of money at stake. I still feel bad about letting that fight go, but I wasn’t powerful enough to stop that fight from happening.
“There were big promoters and so much money. The payday was tremendous. But I don’t do this just for the money, I do it for the love of the sport. I didn’t think Pacquiao was capable of fighting his best fight one-handed.”
What do you think about Pacquiao not being allowed to use a painkiller before fighting Mayweather?
