Pacquiao blames injury for loss to Mayweather

Manny Pacquiao blamed a shoulder injury for his defeat to Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, claiming it stopped him from using his right hand.

American Mayweather, 38, outclassed his Philippine rival at the MGM Grand and was awarded a wide unanimous decision.

Pacquiao, 36, said he thought he did enough to win the fight, despite most observers agreeing with the verdict.

“Three weeks before the fight I got a tear in my right shoulder,” he said. “It got better but it wasn’t 100%.”

Mayweather started the brighter of the two and rocked Pacquiao with a number of right-hand counter punches in the early exchanges.

The Filipino came back at the American in the fourth round, stunning Mayweather with a left hand and again in the sixth round but was never able to back it up and Mayweather ran out a comfortable winner on the judges’ scorecards.

Pacquiao said he wanted to have an injection in the shoulder before the fight, but the Nevada Athletic Commission refused.

Mayweather for his part, said, “I made the non-believers into believers. I was the better man, the smarter fighter – more calculated, more patient. He was applying pressure but not landing many punches and I was just keeping my jab in his face.”