The 36 year-old put in an unusually shot-shy performance against the pound for pound king on Saturday night and revealed that the injury suffered in training was the main reason for him connecting with only 81 punches in the duration of the contest.
Mayweather, 38, has confirmed that he will face the ‘Pacman’ in another blockbuster money-spinner next year in what could represent his bid for a perfect 50 wins and the overtaking of Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record. Congressman Pacquiao has announced his acceptance of the rematch, but only when he fully nurses his ailment back to health.
“I’m happy he wants to fight, but first I must fix my shoulder,” Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News.
“The doctor said to be totally 100% okay I need rest four to six months. I still think we won the fight, but I was not able to relieve my shoulder pain one week before the fight, so I lost.
“The only extreme action I could manage was the fourth round and it showed as we won that round,” he added.
Interest in a second helping of Mayweather v Pacquiao could be a tougher sell than the first due to the unanimous outcome and dominance of ‘Money’ at the MGM Grand last weekend. Enough questions may have been raised in the aftermath though and once some time passes, the fans may be more open to the pair to settling their differences once and for all with no excuses.
