Pacquiao could face criminal charges for hiding shoulder injury - report

Published May 5, 2015 12:17pm

(UPDATED 3:39 p.m.) Manny Pacquiao could face sanctions for not disclosing his injury to the Nevada State Athletic Commission prior to his fight against Floyd Mayweather.

Francisco Aguilar, the chairman of the commission that oversaw this past weekend's mega-fight, told True.Ink that it is "something we’re looking at, and an issue we’ll be discussing with the Attorney General."

According to the report, Pacquiao could be guilty of perjury for not disclosing the injury on his pre-fight health checklist.

"In Nevada, perjury is considered a D-class felony, a crime punishable by as many as four years in prison, criminal guidelines state," the report added.

Aguilar said that the questionnaire is a measure to prevent injured boxers from continuing to fight, protecting them from themselves.

'We gave all the papers'

But in an interview on "Balitanghali" on Tuesday, Pacquiao denied hiding the injury from authorities.

"Binigay namin lahat nandun sa papers," he told Balitanghali in an interview. "Nandun 'yun sa papel nila 'yung finill-up-an namin 'yung papers."

A copy of Pacquiao's pre-fight checklist was published by True.Ink. The questionnaire specifically asked "Have you had any injury to your shoulders, elbows, or hands that need evaluation or examination?" to which the answer was ticked "No."

LOOK: In pre-fight health questionnaire, Pacquiao didn't disclose injury

It was unclear if Pacquiao himself filled up the form. Apart from him, the document was also signed by his adviser Michael Koncz.

Inadvertent mistake

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Koncz claimed he was the one who filled up the form.

"Number one, Manny didn't check the box. I checked it," said Koncz.

He said that he never meant to hide the injury in the questionnaire, noting that the team had sent a list of medications to the commission for Pacquiao's use on fight night.

"It was just an inadvertent mistake. If I was trying to hide anything, would I have listed all the medications on the sheet that he intended to use? We weren't trying to hide anything. I just don't think I read the questionnaire correctly," said Koncz.

Pacquiao's camp is contending that it was surprised that the commission denied him the use of painkiller shots to his shoulder, which hampered him during the fight. Pacquiao, who is set to undergo surgery within the week, said he decided to continue the fight despite the lack of medication because he did not want to let the fans down.

Koncz added that Pacquiao camp had disclosed the fighter's condition to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which was in charge of testing both fighters.

Pacquiao camp to blame

But USADA CEO Travis Tygart said Pacquiao's camp was to blame for the whole affair.

"If you're a caring person and Manny actually had an injury, while it has nothing to do with anti-doping, his camp let him down by inaccurately filling out the paperwork for the Nevada Commission in violation of its rules," said Tygart.

"He didn't get the medication that he otherwise could have used. You feel sorry that his team let him down the way that they did. His team either committed an egregious mistake, or their gamesmanship by not disclosing something that could give the opponent a tactical advantage — a shoulder injury — came back to bite them."

Pacquiao, who is set to undergo surgery within the week, said he decided to continue the fight despite the lack of medication because he did not want to let the fans down.

"Talagang pinipilit natin na wag [ma-disappoint] 'yung mga tao," he said. "Kahit na masakit tiniis ko."

Significant tear

Pacquiao is set to go under the knife to fix his torn rotator cuff, an injury in sparring weeks before the fight.

The injury would appear to rule out any chance of a rematch after the 38-year-old Mayweather said he would have one more fight in September before retiring.

"We have an MRI scan that confirms he has a rotator cuff tear. He has a significant tear," orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache told ESPN.com.

Pacquiao, known for his aggressive and all-out attacking style, was clearly not his typical offensive-minded self in Las Vegas. -- with Marisse Panaligan and Reuters/JST, GMA News

Tags: mannypacquiao, floydmayweather