We have now heard two completely different stories regarding the shoulder of Manny Pacquiao and whether he was or was not injured coming into his May 2 bout with Floyd Mayweather. Neither story gels, though, and both leave some serious questions to be answered.
The initial story given to the media was that Pacquiao was nursing an injured shoulder throughout the tail end of training camp and came into the Mayweather bout still suffering from the injury.
It had been confirmed by all parties that Team Pacquiao then requested from the Nevada State Athletic Commission a shot of the anti-inflammatory Toradol and the numbing agent Lidocaine two hours before the bout. Their request was denied, in great part because Pacquiao had indicated on pre-fight medical forms that he was not injured in any way. He had also passed a pre-fight physical by commission doctors at the weigh-in the day before and received the green light to fight. No sign of injury was reported at all.
Now, however, that story has changed significantly.
“Two weeks before the fight, the injury had cleared up, he was again using his right hand and he went in 100% in the fight,? Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum recently told Fighthype.com. ?Unfortunately [he] reinjured the shoulder at the end of the fourth round and wasn?t as effective with his right hand after that point as he had been before. That?s the whole story…but going into the fight, two of the foremost doctors in the world said that he was fit to go– and he was.”
[Why Manny Pacquiao?s ?Pursuit? Of Floyd Mayweather Was Destined To Fail]
So, why was Team Pacquiao pursuing a pre-fight injection if, by their own recent accounts, he was 100% on fight night?
This is the question that the mainstream media is seemingly afraid to ask and its lack of an answer is the very definition of deafening silence.
The substance Pacquiao sought to inject?Toradol– is certainly a big part of this issue as it is a USADA-approved anti-inflammatory very frequently misused in professional athletics as a temporary ?pick me up? and rejuvenator for athletes looking for an extra edge on game day.
The full extent of Toradol?s intentional misuse?which includes deadening of cramps, masking of concussion symptoms, and overall rejuvenation of the veteran athlete?can be found HERE. There are also quotes by athletes who have used the substance and can attest to its power. Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms went so far as to say that it was such a powerful agent that a player ?could go run through the wall and wouldn’t really know it until two or three days later.?
An otherwise healthy Pacquiao injecting Toradol would?ve been benefitting from what was, essentially, a performance enhancing drug by means of exploiting a loophole in the system. Was this Team Pacquiao?s intent or is Team Pacquiao lying when they say that Manny was 100% on the day of the fight?
Lots of question here and so much remains to be answered.
