Koncz shoulders blame for failure to disclose Pacquiao injury

LAS VEGAS, USA – Michael Koncz, the adviser of Manny Pacquiao, says it was his fault that the Filipino boxer’s shoulder injury wasn’t disclosed.

Koncz said it was he – and not Pacquiao – who checked the box saying that Pacquiao had no pre-existing injuries heading into his May 2 bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr, which could cost Pacquiao a fine or a suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission.

The form is signed under penalty of perjury, which could put Pacquiao and his team in trouble when it’s brought before Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt for review.

“Number one, Manny didn’t check the box,” Koncz told the New York Daily News. “I checked it. It was just an inadvertent mistake. If I was trying to hide anything, would I have listed all the medications on the sheet that he intended to use? We weren’t trying to hide anything. I just don’t think I read the questionnaire correctly.” 

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) tore his right rotator cuff during a sparring session less than a month before the fight, and said he considered postponing the fight. He was unable to train and sent sparring partners home, asking them not to divulge the injury to the public.

Koncz says that, while it was his fault that the survey was filled out improperly, he faults the commission for not following up on the medications lidocaine, celestone, PRP (plasma replacement therapy) toradol and bupivacaine.

A joint statement from Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank and Team Pacquiao said they requested to inject the anti-inflammatory toradol into his shoulder.

Pacquiao’s team had tried to administer shots of numbing agents before the fight but were barred from doing so after the commission said they had not gotten express permission to do so from the commission.

“I’m going to take full responsibility for what happened. The wrong box was checked. But I think part of the responsibility also lies with the commission. Wouldn’t you ask a question about all these medications (on the questionnaire)? The bottom line is that we weren’t trying to hide anything. If we had wanted to, we could have done the injection at the hotel before the fight and nobody would have known but we didn’t want to hide anything.”

Koncz says the he believed the United States Anti-Doping Agency was in contact with the commission with regards to injuries and medications being taken, but USADA CEO Travis Tygart told the Associated Press that his company received “no medical information, no MRIs, no documents” pertaining to a Pacquiao injury.

“If you’re a caring person and Manny actually had an injury, while it has nothing to do with anti-doping, his camp let him down by inaccurately filling out the paperwork for the Nevada Commission in violation of its rules,” said Tygart. “He didn’t get the medication that he otherwise could have used. You feel sorry that his team let him down the way that they did. His team either committed an egregious mistake, or their gamesmanship by not disclosing something that could give the opponent a tactical advantage — a shoulder injury — came back to bite them.

“Or they were worried the fight was going to get cancelled because of the injury, and they weren’t going to get paid. These guys know better.” – Rappler.com