Pacquiao to undergo surgery, will be sidelined nine months to one year

By Raj Parmar - 05/05/2015 - Comments

pacmay2By Raj Parmar: In the aftermath of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao mega fight this past weekend, the sports world has been largely disappointed by the one-sidedness of what was billed as the “Fight of the Century.” The unbeaten Mayweather (48-0, 26 KO’s) was able to easily dominate Pacquiao (57-6, 38 KO’s) over 12 rounds for a relatively easy unanimous decision.

Manny claimed in the post-fight press conference that he struggled to attack Mayweather with the same ferocity and aggressiveness that he has become famous for due to a shoulder injury that occurred in training about three weeks before the actual fight. While some have looked at these comments from Pacquiao as excuses for the loss, an MRI taken on Monday indicated that Manny has in fact a major tear in his right shoulder and will require surgery that could keep him out of action for up to a year.

“We have an MRI scan that confirms he has a rotator cuff tear. He has a significant tear,” Dr. Neal ElAttrache stated to ESPN.com, “If all goes as expected with the surgery and the rehab is successful, Manny could be back training in about six months. At that point, he will be regaining strength and endurance, and competition is reasonable within nine months to a year. But this is a severe enough tear that it won’t heal without being repaired.”

ElAttrache is a well reputed surgeon and has performed surgeries on high profile athletes such as Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The doctor is convinced that Manny was severely limited in his bout with Mayweather and was only able to get through the full 12 rounds by not using his right hand very often.

“(Pacquiao) modulated his approach. He moderated what he did with his right hand,” ElAttrache explained, “His punch count was less than it has been. He did alter the way he fought to get through the fight with the injury. He is in pain.”

One must wonder why Manny would not postpone the fight as the nature of his injury was very severe per what Dr. ElAttrache described. Pacquiao had planned to take an anti-inflammatory shot to numb the shoulder pain a couple hours prior to the bout but was denied by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to incorrect paperwork filed at the weigh-in, which did not disclose that Manny had an injury.

It is very clear at this point that Pacquiao’s team either should have done a bit more due diligence in ensuring the Nevada commission knew Manny was going need the shot on fight night or simply withdrew from the May 2 fight date. The welterweight championship showdown was seen as a legacy defining match for both fighters and it serves no justice for the fans who spent record amounts of money to watch this fight witness one of the participants fighting at well below 100% due a hidden injury.

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