Pacquiao sparring partner breaks silence on shoulder injury

LAS VEGAS, USA – As controversy rages over the anesthetic shots that Manny Pacquiao was denied by the Nevada Athletic Commission before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr, one of Pacquiao’s sparring partners has broken his silence on the matter. 

“We were asked not to mention anything to anyone but yes Manny got hurt during this camp with his right shoulder and it was messed up pretty bad!” said Dashon Johnson, a 27-year-old boxer from Escondido, Calif., wrote in a Facebook post.

“So bad his sparring partners including myself were asked to go home a few weeks out before the actual fight, which means a lot of work he could have put in for this fight was brought to a hault (sic) due to the fact that he could not spar really anymore and didn’t wanna mess it up more than he already had.”

When asked after his unanimous decision loss to Mayweather about whether he had suffered a shoulder injury in training, Pacquiao revealed that he had sustained a tear in his right rotator cuff during a sparring session less than a month before the fight.

Pacquiao has claimed that he and his team had submitted a request – which was approved – for injections of a numbing agent into his right shoulder two weeks before the fight, only to be told different before he went to the ring. 

NAC claims that Pacquiao had not disclosed the injury, saying only the medications were written down on the pre-fight medical questionnaire.

(READ: Pacquiao didn’t ask for shoulder injections – commission)

Johnson, whose boxing record stands at 15-19-3 (5 knockouts), feels Pacquiao went through with the fight because he didn’t want to let his family, friends and fans down by delaying the fight, which took place on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 

“Manny no matter what wasn’t going to let his family, fans and friends down by post poning (sic) the fight so he was gonna just fight through the pain! I take my hat off to him because even faced with the adversity he had going into this fight, in my mind he had the better action moments in the fight and still tried to engage with a messed up shoulder and still went 12 rounds with the greatest fighter in the world today! 

“No shame at all Manny you did what you had to do and you are still the peoples champion also at the end of the day you put your family in a better position and made your country men proud! If everyone knew what I knew you would be loved even more than how you are now!”

Pacquiao told reporters on Sunday at his hotel suite at the Delano Hotel that someone had leaked information about the injury to Mayweather’s camp, and that Mayweather intentionally targeted the injured shoulder.

(READ: Manny Pacquiao: ‘We were sabotaged’)

Pacquiao says the injury was aggravated during the fourth round when he pinned Mayweather against the ropes and threw a number of combinations. – Rappler.com