Manny Pacquiao's Injury Increases Desire to See Rematch vs. Floyd Mayweather

After Floyd Mayweather defeated a somewhat subdued Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, it was revealed that the Filipino was suffering from an injury to his right shoulder, which can only act as ammunition for those who believe there should be a rematch between the fighters.

According to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole, Pacquiao's camp claims the 36-year-old suffered the injury in training three to four weeks before the fight.

After arriving in his locker room on Saturday evening, Pac-Man requested an anti-inflammatory shot. The request was denied by the Nevada Athletic Commission, because Pacquiao's team failed to check the box marking him as injured in the paperwork filed at the weigh-in on Friday.

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan got the reaction from the NAC:

NAC Chairman Francisco Aguilar added that because of the incorrectly completed paperwork, "I have no proof an injury actually exists and I can't make a ruling based on what they're telling me," per Tim Dahlberg of The Associated Press.

Promoter Bob Arum explained just how much Pacquiao was restricted, and indicated the injury was a torn rotator cuff, the same injury that has put Kobe Bryant out for nine months, per Dan Roan and Greg Beacham of The Associated Press.

Though Arum said the decision not to give Pacquiao a shot "affected the outcome of the fight" (h/t Dahlberg), there has been some debate as to whether the Filipino was using the injury as an excuse for underperforming.

ESPN's Dan Rafael fell in the former camp:

Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, however, did not believe Pac-Man was making excuses:

As Roan pointed out, the injury could prompt calls for a rematch:

It's certain the Fight of the Century failed to live up to the incredible hype surrounding the bout, and that may have at least partially been due to Pacquiao's lack of full fitness.

Pac-Man rarely challenged Mayweather, whose defence was rock-solid as he slipped endless assaults from his rival.

Aside from Rounds 4 through 6, in which Pacquiao looked more like himself and managed to catch Money with a variety of punches, Mayweather controlled the bout and the Filipino struggled to land blows on his opponent.

Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images

According to Dahlberg, Pacquiao's usual punch count is around 700. However, according to BBC Sport, Pacquiao threw just 429 punches and 193 jabs, landing a meagre 81 and 18, respectively.

Had Pacquiao been fully fit, the fight would likely have been a closer contest and a more entertaining one. This being the case, calls for a rematch are understandable.

For more discussion on whether to expect a rematch, see the video below.

Provided it happened sooner rather than later—as long as Pacquiao has time to recover, of course—if the pair should face each other again, Mayweather would still be the favourite, but the fight might actually live up to its billing.