I do buy there was something wrong with his shoulder- it certainly wasn't 100% if he asked for a numbing injection. However I do think the extent of how badly it was injured (pre fight at least), is probably being vastly exaggerated. For example did Manny Pacquiao seem to you like someone who thought an injury was going to cost him the fight at any point from fight week until the first bell rang- because to me he seemed to be a lot more confident than Mayweather. So while I accept that Pacquiao has a bad shoulder, I don't buy it as a reason for why he lost. And to be fair to Pacquiao he doesn't really seem comfortable with this so I'm guessing is more the brain child of Arum than him.
I think we're on the same page here. I just didn't see anything at that particular moment, when Pac took several steps back from Floyd when he was pinned. Did that look like a moment where he aggravated an injury to you?
Probably, but due to the spontaneity of his retreat I think there must be some truth to it, it probably wasn't some excruciating/sharp pain that he just suddenly felt because he would have grimaced but he probably was in some discomfort.
:good I didn't think he was especially hurt either, and I don't think he caught him totally flush. Floyd seemed to sense the punch just before impact and may have rolled with it a bit, but you're right - it undoubtedly got his attention. And those days are definitely long gone. I remember as some of my favorite fighters like Mosley, MAB, and Golota were getting older, I'd often hope for a turn-back-the-clock type performance where those guys would display prior superior form, but it rarely happens.
You could be right. I'm no medical expert, and I've never suffered that type of injury, so I have no reference point whatsoever. All the same, something very fishy about all of this I think. I need to rewatch Vitali-Byrd at some point.
Not particularly. However it could be part of the game plan (after that flurry he'd done enough to win that round and was preserving himself). And like you mentioned it could be tentative. Despite the fact he never gets KO's, I think Mayweather's punches are fast, hard, and accurate enough to stop a combo in his tracks (he always seems to get his opponents respect) hence Pacquiao wasn't throwing 8 punch combos all night like people thought he would.
I really miss prime Mosely. Would fight anyone. Him beating the hell out of Margarito is still one of my favorites.
I still don't know. That's plausible. But unfortunately we'll never know. I still think that was the one moment in the fight where Pac had Floyd exactly where he wanted him, and that he should have mixed up the speed/power on his shots more (his variety was good, but he was still having difficulty penetrating Floyd's efficient shell). Preaching to the choir here. Floyd's got nice pop, and even better, he throws the types of punches that tend to do the most damage - ones you don't see coming, and there is no better example of this than his fight with Mosley. Shane KNEW the right hands were coming, and had eaten a ton of them, but he still had no idea when they were coming or where they were coming from. Floyd's right hand truly is a thing of beauty.
Yeah, that fight was magnificent for Shane. At the time, I had mistakenly believed that switching from his father to Naazim resurrected him, and that he would have a nice second leg of a career, but it never materialized. I always wonder what would have happened if his scheduled fight with Berto had pushed through had the natural disaster not occurred, as Berto was undefeated then, and I always believed he was overrated, and thought Shane would shine against him. Instead, his inactivity period was extended, and then he was pitted against the P4P King.
Question for me is, why did those things happen? Why was Freddy so uninspiring and defeatist because they had mentally thrown in the towel for various reasons: "injury", tactics? It's a pertinent point drawn up about the difference in urgency and useful advice given from Freddy and Mayweather Snr. Floyd Snr. is really unhappy with the whole fight and thought Pacquaio was terrible and that he needs to sort out and change things with his son. Pacquaio was. not. good enough. to make this the fight everyone hoped it would be. https://youtu.be/VzQ97F1eTCQ?t=325