Pacquiao adviser: I checked wrong box on Manny's health questionnaire

Manny Pacquiao's business adviser is claiming the he checked the wrong box on the fighter's health questionnaire amid questions of non-disclosure of a shoulder injury prior to this weekend's fight with Floyd Mayweather.

 

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Michael Koncz said he was the one who filled up the form that said Pacquiao didn't have any injuries prior to the fight.

 

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

 

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."

 

The document was signed by Pacquiao and Koncz, who claimed that he made an error filling up the form.

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

 

The Nevada State Athletic Commission said it was looking at Pacquiao's non-disclosure and would be investigating possible sanctions against the fighter. According to True.Ink, perjury is a D-class felony in the state of Nevada, making it punishable by as many as four years in prison.

 

But Koncz 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.

 

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." -- JST, GMA News