by Our Sports Desk

Manny Pacquiao cast a shadow over Floyd Mayweather’s conclusive points victory in Las Vegas on Saturday by claiming he considered postponing the welterweight showdown because of a shoulder injury.

Pacquiao suffered a tear in the joint during sparring around three weeks ago and requested permission from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a pain-killing injection but the request was refused.

Apart from a dominant fourth round when he backed Mayweather up with a hard southpaw left before unleashing a barrage of punches, he made little impression on the richest fight in history.

Pacquiao revealed at the post-fight press conference that he re-injured his shoulder early in the clash at the MGM Grand and that prevented him from throwing punches with his right hand.

“We were planning to postpone because for two weeks I didn’t train well. We couldn’t do what we wanted to because of my shoulder,” Pacquiao said.

“From the third round I felt the pain in my shoulder. When I threw a lot of punches it hurt, so I backed off.

“I wanted to be more aggressive but I could only use my left hand. It’s difficult to fight with one hand.

“Even though I hurt my shoulder, I didn’t complain in the ring. It’s part of the game.

“We planned to file with the commission a request for a shot to numb my shoulder but they did not allow that so we didn’t get a shot. We respect that.

“Two weeks before the fight, one week before the fight, the shoulder was getting better and better but wasn’t totally 100 per cent. I couldn’t use it because there was something wrong.”

Mayweather produced a technical masterclass to post scorecards of 118-110 116-12 116-112, securing the 48th victory of his unbeaten career before a celebrity-packed crowd in Las Vegas.