Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports first reported that Pacquiao had injured his shoulder in training camp and was taking anti-inflammatory shots that were approved by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Pacquiao lost a wide unanimous decision to Mayweather in their "Fight of the Century" Saturday in Las Vegas, suffering the sixth loss of his career.
Pacquiao confirmed at the post-fight press conference that he had injured his shoulder and even briefly considered asking for a postponement of the bout.
"We thought about planning to postpone… because of the right hand," he said. "I can't use my right hand."
Iole reported that Pacquiao requested to take a shot after arriving at his locker room in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but was denied by the Nevada State Athletic Commission -- something that Pacquiao confirmed.
Pacquiao also said his shoulder was "getting better" but it was not 100% on fight night.
"Three weeks before the fight, I skipped my training for a couple of days because of that reason, and we went to an MRI and there's a tear in my right shoulder," he said.
Trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao suffered the injury when he banged shoulders with a sparring partner.
Pacquiao revealed he started feeling the pain on his right shoulder by the third round.
"I already felt the pain in my shoulder, that's why when I throw punches and combinations, I backed off because it hurts," he said.
Pacquiao nevertheless kept moving forward throughout the 12-round match but was ultimately unsuccessful in getting past Mayweather's jab and laser-like right hand.
He wound up throwing only 429 punches and landed only 81. Mayweather landed 148 of 435 punches.
Yet Pacquiao said he still felt he believed he won the fight.
"I thought I won the fight, and I have to review the DVD," he said. "I hurt him many times. I hurt him many times. You can see that if you watch the replay, but he didn't hurt me."
Mayweather, when informed that Pacquiao fought with an injured shoulder, merely shrugged.
"I had injuries also going into this fight," he said. "Both of my arms is injured, both of my hands is injured. But like I said before, I will always find a way to win."
Mayweather hiked his record to 48-0.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
