(CNN Philippines) — In the aftermath of of his unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao bared he went into the fight with a torn shoulder muscle.
Related: Floyd Mayweather beats Pacquiao by unanimous decision
“(There is) Something wrong,” said Pacquiao, referring to his right shoulder.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports first broke this news a few minutes after the scores were read by Jimmy Lennon Jr.
During the post fight press conference, Pacquiao and his team confirmed the Filipino pugilist tore his right shoulder a few weeks before the fight.
According to trainer Freddie Roach, the Pacman sustained the injury following a collision with another fighter during sparring but believed that Pacquiao could still fight after recovering way.
Iole also reported Pacquiao was denied a request to the Nevada Athletic Commission for an anti-inflammatory shot prior to the fight.
Even as Pacquiao emphasized he did not want to make alibis about the loss, he did explain it affected his strategy.
Also read: Manny Pacquiao after losing via unanimous decision: ‘I thought I won the fight’
“The thing is, what we wanted to do we could not do because of my shoulder,” said Pacquiao.
Despite the issues with the shoulder, Roach believed that “it was a very close fight. Out-scoring him on the ropes was a part of the plan.”
In the post-fight interview with Max Kellerman, Pacquiao said he thought he won the fight saying, “I thought I won the fight. I hurt him many times, but he didn’t hurt me.”
On a possible rematch with Mayweather, Roach was up for the challenge.
