Buboy says injury affected Pacquiao
LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao could have thrown his usual high number of punches during Saturday night’s clash with Floyd Mayweather and got the job done had it not been for the right shoulder injury the Filipino fighter sustained during training.
Buboy Fernandez, who serves as Freddie Roach’s assistant, said on Sunday that his long-time friend was eager to rain punches on Mayweather but “he could not (unload) because of the injury.”
“That’s exactly the reason why when it appeared that Mayweather was being cornered, Manny just could not fire his combinations.”
Not because Pacquiao, who lost a unanimous decision, was afraid of getting caught like Juan Manuel Marquez did to him in 2012.
“The reason was the injury,” Fernandez said tapping his right shoulder.
Something was amiss when punch stats showed that Pacquiao threw less than 500 punches, a figure that is so alien to somebody who is known for volume punching.
With his right hand almost immobilized, Pacquiao relied heavily on his left hand to score heavily but Mayweather was so good at evading punches that he hardly got smacked.
“Nasaktan na ‘yun pero hindi makagalaw at makabitiw ng todo si Manny kaya nagkaganyan ang resulta,” Fernandez said.
“Kung walang iniinda si Manny, iba na sana ang kalalabasan ng laban.”
Still, Fernandez believes the weekend’s match won’t be the last.
“Believe me, they’ll fight again,” added Fernandez.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported that a case of miscommunication happened involving Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank, the Nevada Athletic Commission and the US Anti-Doping Agency regarding the use of pain killers to treat Pacquiao’s bum shoulder.
“But Pacquiao’s camp was told by his orthopedist that he could take the injection if he wanted, and USADA approved the in-competition use of the remedy in a document,” the Times said.
“The problem was that USADA never shared its approval with the state commission, Chairman Francisco Aguilar said Sunday, and when Pacquiao’s camp told the commission it wanted the fighter to take the injection at 6:08 p.m. on fight night, the request was rejected.”
The commission said it was too late when Pacquiao’s camp requested the procedure be done less two hours before the fight began.
Pacquiao thought about postponing the fight he was very concerned about the fans wanting to see the fight and when the injury was getting better each passing day, he decided to proceed.
Pacquiao had it reinjured in the fourth frame when he unleashed a barrage.