Pacquiao sustained the injury while training before his May 2 fight in Las Vegas against Floyd Mayweather Jr., which Mayweather won by unanimous decision.
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After the fight, Pacquiao said he aggravated the shoulder injury during the third round and fought through the soreness. His doctor, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, told ESPN on Monday that Pacquiao would need surgery and will miss nine to 12 months.
Pacquiao’s team released a statement earlier Monday regarding his decision to fight through the injury. It again faulted the Nevada Athletic Commission for not allowing Pacquiao to receive an injection of the anti-inflammatory drug Toradol on fight night.
From the statement:
Francisco Aguilar, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said he was never told Pacquiao was injured.
“They never filed any legal paperwork with the commission prior to the fight that he was hurt. We had Dr. (Timothy) Trainor and Dr. (James) Game check him out, and it was an easy decision on our part,” Aguilar said, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I need proof that an injury exists, and I had no proof. It’s our job to keep the integrity of the sport,” Aguilar added.
UPDATE: Aguilar told reporters that the Nevada attorney general’s office will investigate why Pacquiao said on his pre-fight questionnaire that he wasn’t injured.
“We will gather all the facts and follow the circumstances,” Aguilar said, per The Associated Press. “At some point we will have some discussion. As a licensee of the commission you want to make sure fighters are giving you up-to-date information.”
Aguilar told reporters Pacquiao checked “no” on the form. The fighter could be fined or suspended for giving an inaccurate answer.
Sporting News Media’s Tom Gatto contributed to this report.
