It was the surgery that let many fans down in the wake up the super fight that was Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. The fight for starters was hyped up and broke many financial records. It didn’t live up to expectations as Mayweather coasted to a clear decision victory. Then the news of Pacquiao having a torn rotator cuff came out, and it drove many fans into an upheaval.
Many hardcore fans didn’t believe such a theory and felt it was just a ploy to sell a rematch. Those that did felt Pacquiao was unethical for not letting the public know and are now battling him in court for millions of dollars. But Freddie Roach says that the surgery was real and says to those that don’t believe it:
“I drove him (to the surgery),” Roach told Michael Woods of RingTV.com.
Pacquiao made more headway when he told a Philippine paper that his shoulder was magically healed by saltwater with no rehab. It was something Roach disputed as well
“No, we did have a bit of a slow rehab at first because he’s doing it in the Philippines,” Roach said. “So we flew out one of the people, one of the (surgeons’) people, to do the rehab (with) him. That was about three weeks ago, I believe he’s still there.”
As to why Pacquiao told the paper that he did no rehab is beyond Roach. But Roach said the rehab has been harder than the surgery. According to Woods, Roach specifically told him that if Pacquiao doesn’t rehab, there won’t be any more boxing.
“They get an operation, and they think it’s all done,” Roach added.
Roach expects Manny to continue his rehab with an expected return in three to six months. His promoter Bob Arum has already talked up a fight with Amir Khan and a Floyd Mayweather Jr. rematch.
