Pacquiao camp blames denial of 'anti-inflammatory injection' for defeat against Mayweather

After losing a closely fought battle against unbeaten US boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao's camp has attributed the Filipino boxer's defeat to the denial to receive an anti-inflammatory injection for his right shoulder injury before the bout in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Mayweather extended his unbeaten record to 48-0 with a unanimous-decision victory over Pacquiao in the 'fight of the century' bout at MGM Grand.

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum said Nevada Athletic Commission's refusal to allow an anti-inflammatory shot for the boxer before the mega-bout affected the outcome the fight, News.com.au reported.

Meanwhile, Francisco Aguilar, chairman of the NAC, said that the Pacquiao team did not bring to their notice about his injury until Saturday night, and therefore the requests for permission to take the shot had to be ruled out.

Defending his stance, Pacquiao said that it was a part of the game, claiming that he didn't want to make alibis or complain but insisted that it was hard to fight one-handed.

Arum also said that they felt that the work that was done on the shoulder during training would give him the opportunity to use the right hand without the shot, adding that they were disappointed when the injury kicked up again in the third round.

Despite Pacquiao's limitations, Arum insisted that he fought a courageous fight under all the circumstances, adding that he was very proud of what he had accomplished then.