The Manny Pacquiao saga gets stranger and stranger by the day. After losing a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2nd, there’s been nothing but excuses, confusion, Harry Potter magic potions – whatever you want to call it.
Typically when an athlete undergoes torn rotator cuff surgery, the recovery process can take three to six months according to MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, but that also depends on the size of the tear and other factors.
That doesn’t include rehab, which could increase the time an athlete has to spend on the sidelines. Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, for example, spent nine months on the sidelines recovering from his torn rotator cuff surgery.
Pacquiao spoke with The Phillippine Star last week via USA Today.
“I’m fine. It’s God’s work,” Pacquiao said. “I never saw a doctor. I never did rehab. All I did was swim in the sea as often as I could. The salt water healed my wound.”
Apparently Manny Pacquiao’s belief in God is stronger than the NBA superstar, the water in the Phillippines is very spectacular, or someone’s a big Harry Potter fan. I’m running out of ideas.
What I can tell you is that the water explanation might come into question as water pollution is a tremendous problem for the Philippines, as 58 percent of sampled groundwater in the country was found to be contaminated with coliform by the WEPA (Water Environment Partnership in Asia), but from what I hear, the quality of the water in the oceans are much better.
Also, water pollution costs the Filipino economy more than $1.3 billion USD a year. What’s the deal here? Is Pacquiao a modern-day Tuck Everlasting?
None of this would have happened if he gave Mayweather credit for beating him on May 2nd. And yes, Mayweather beat him.
If Pacquiao gave Mayweather credit and was like, ’Mayweather’s a tremendous fighter. I thought I won a couple rounds early on, but I damaged my right shoulder in the fourth. I tried my best to win the fight for the fans, but it wasn’t enough. He was the better man.’
That would have been the better way to do it because fighters fight through adversity all the time. Mayweather even said in the post-fight news conference that both of his arms and hands were injured during the fight. Danny Williams even knocked out Mike Potter in 2000 after dislocating his shoulder, so there’s no excuse.
Personally, I’ve had an injured shoulder for years and I swim in a salt water pool. Little has gotten better, so I really need to get myself some of this magic water.
Pacquiao – if he decides to fight again – will probably be on the sidelines until the spring of 2016. His advisor, Michael Koncz, told USA Today Sports that Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery on Pacquiao, is impressed by the fighter’s recovery and range of motion.
Let us know what you think about this latest addition to the story.
