A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Manny Pacquiao and his promoters, Top Rank, for failing to disclose his shoulder injury, 8 News Now reported.
The lawsuit, filed by Stephane Vanel and Kami Rahbaran from Nevada, seeks damages on behalf of all those who purchased tickets to the fight, the pay-per-view event, and those who wagered money on the match.
According to the lawsuit, all members of the lawsuit were "victimized" by Pacquiao and his team's failure to disclose his injuries and they relied on these "misrepresentations" to spend money on the match.
Manny Pacquiao fought and lost against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 with a shoulder injury, according to a statement released by his camp.
The boxer could face disciplinary action from Nevada sporting officials for not disclosing his injury a day before the richest fight in boxing history.
Pacquiao was suffering from a right shoulder injury he got during training, the statement from his promoters said. However, he checked "no" in response to a question about a shoulder injury on the pre-fight medical questionnaire, the Associated Press reported.
The form requires fighters to list their medical history, injuries, and medications they're on to prevent boxers from fighting with pre-existing injuries, True Ink Boxing reported. A copy of Pacquiao's form, which he filled himself, is available on True Ink.
The state attorney general's office will be looking into this, the Nevada Athletic Commission's chairman told the AP.
Pacquiao could face a fine or suspension for filling out the form inaccurately.
Pacquiao's camp said he was considered fit to train and fight by doctors after rest, treatments, and close monitoring. His advisers notified the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) about his shoulder injury and the agency permitted the use of Toradol — a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory — for fight night, five days before the match, the statement said.
However, Nevada regulators did not allow Pacquiao to take a shot of Toradol a couple of hours before the fight as the commission said it was not made aware of his injury and it would be unfair to Mayweather, the AP reported.
"This was disappointing to Team Pacquiao since they had disclosed the injury and treatment to USADA, USADA approved the treatments, and Manny had listed the medication on his pre-fight medical form," Pacquiao's statement said.
The head of the USADA, Travis Tygart, said Pacquiao's condition was not an anti-doping issue. "The real question is why his camp checked 'no' on the disclosure," Tygart told the AP. "Either they made a terrible mistake to not follow the rules or they were trying not to give information to the other side."
Pacquiao's camp said that his shoulder did not improve 100% but he continued to train and fought the match, because "this is boxing, injuries happen, and Manny is a warrior."
"However, as Manny has said multiple times, he makes no excuses. Manny gave it his best," the statement concluded without giving details on why he filled out the form incorrectly.
Pacquiao is set to undergo surgery this week for a "significant tear" in his rotator cuff, ESPN.com reported. He will be out of action between nine months and a year if the surgery goes well.