SPORTS THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015 Pacquiao injury another hit for boxing LAS VEGAS: The people who paid $99.95 to watch at mission from Nevada boxing officials for a shot of high. The money was too big. The richest fight ever By then it was too late. Allowing the shot without home had no clue. Neither did those spending Toradol, an anti-inflammatory used to treat acute had to go on. “Athletes always fight hurt,” promoter knowing exactly what the injury was would have put $40,000 or more for a ringside seat Saturday night in pain. Bob Arum said the night of the fight. “We felt the Mayweather at a disadvantage, at the very least. Las Vegas. Fighters are tough guys. They often enter the ring work that was done on the shoulder during training “They had plenty of time to disclose it,” said Bob And, surely, the bettor who wagered $500,000 at not 100 percent because in boxing it’s an unwritten would give him the opportunity to use the right Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Athletic the MGM Grand sports book on Manny Pacquiao to rule that the fight must go on. hand. He deals with the injury and thinks he con- Commission. The lack of disclosure will probably beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. wasn’t in the loop. But this was different. This was the richest fight quered it and it was reinjured again. Happens in foot- mean a fine, and possibly a suspension for Pacquiao. They all thought they were getting the Fight of ever, a boxing match so big that the fighters were ball and every sport.” He can afford both, with a payday that figures to the Century. Two fighters who, if not in their prime, getting paydays that rivaled the gross domestic Turns out there was a reason trainer Freddie exceed $100 million and a lengthy recovery time were at least in peak condition for the fight of their product of some developing countries. Roach closed sparring sessions a month before the from shoulder surgery. lives. This was a fight so hugely anticipated that it fight. Nothing to see but a one-armed fighter getting Still, Nevada boxing regulators need to do some- What they got instead was a one-armed Pacquiao demanded the best of both fighters. ready to fight the best fighter of his generation. thing. They thought they had done everything possi- chasing Mayweather around the ring for 12 rounds. “I wanted to be more aggressive but it was hard The problem for Pacquiao’s camp wasn’t in keep- ble to ensure a fair fight, but ended up being snook- The Filipino who normally is a punching machine for me to fight (with one hand),” Pacquiao said. ing Mayweather in the dark about the injury. That’s ered instead. landed only 18 right jabs and didn’t even throw as It’s hard to blame Pacquiao, even if he lied a day fair game in boxing, where there’s little advantage in It won’t get people back the money they paid, many punches as the defensive-minded Mayweather. before the fight when he checked the “no” box on a letting an opponent know about any weakness. something a pair of fans are seeking in a federal His shoulder had been injured in training. Injured commission form asking him if he had a shoulder But no one told Nevada boxing officials, not even court lawsuit filed Tuesday against Pacquiao and his so badly that Pacquiao will undergo surgery this injury. He had the weight of an entire country on his when specifically asked on the form filled out by handlers. week for a rotator cuff tear. shoulders, and he badly wanted to fight. Pacquiao just before the weigh-in. They were blind- But it might give them some confidence that the Yet the fight went on. No one outside the The people around him, though, are another mat- sided when, just before the fight, Pacquiao’s handlers next time they are asked to dig deep into their wal- Pacquiao camp knew until two hours before the ter. They knew their fighter was damaged goods, but asked if it was OK for their fighter to get a shot to lets they can do so with confidence that they are get- fight, when his handlers unsuccessfully sought per- sent him into the ring anyway. The stakes were too deaden the pain in his shoulder. ting what they paid for. — AP Slovakia strike late for third victory at worlds PRAGUE: Slovakia struck late to overcome Slovenia 3-1 for its third victory at the ice hockey world championship and France ended a two-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Austria on Tuesday. Earlier, Switzerland edged Germany 1-0 and Belarus beat Denmark 5-1 for their second victories at the tourna- ment. Los Angeles Kings forward Marian Gaborik scored on a power play with 5:44 remaining and added his second into an empty net with one second to go to lead Slovakia to victory. “It wasn’t our best game,” Gaborik said. “But we showed we know what to do when we’re losing.” Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andrej Meszaros had tied it in the final period after Jan Urbas gave Slovenia a 1-0 lead in the first period. Damien Fleury scored on a power play 6:13 into the final period and Laurent Meunier added the second into an empty net with 58 seconds left for France’s first win at the tournament. “That’s a big win for us,” Dallas Stars forward Antoine Roussel said. “We deserved the three points but that was a hard battle for both teams.” Earlier, the defeat by Switzerland was another blow for Germany’s campaign after a humiliating 10-0 loss to Canada in its previous game on Sunday. Denis Hollenstein ended the deadlock with a backhand shot in the final period with 7:44 remaining. “It was an important game for us all,” Nashville Predators forward Kevin Fiala said. “We just have to keep going like that. “Nobody’s bad in this sport any more. Every game is gonna be tough.” Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni made 18 saves for his shutout. Switzerland is third in Group A in Prague with seven points from three games, while Germany and France have three points and Austria is on two. Germany’s Arizona ST. PAUL: Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20) and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) fall as they battle for the puck during the second period of Coyotes forward Tobias Rieder saw some positive signs in Game 3 in the second round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs. — AP his team’s play. “We played a way better than against Canada,” he said. “We did a lot of good things in this game so we probably Blackhawks go up in playoffs take that to the next game and try to do better next time.” The top four teams in each of the two groups of eight will advance to the quarterfinals. ST. PAUL: Chicago held on for a 1-0 win at Minnesota on know the hardest game is the one to close it out.” scored with 19.5 seconds left in the third period to tie the In Ostrava, Artur Gavrus, Evgeni Kovyrshin and Ilya Tuesday that pushed the Wild to the brink of elimination from Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford made 30 saves, game for the Flames, who had an apparent goal disallowed Shinkevich rallied Belarus to victory with second period the NHL playoffs, while Calgary avoided the same predica- giving him 90 on 94 shots in the three games. Stifled time minutes earlier. goals. Kovyrshin scored again in the final period and ment by beating Anaheim in overtime. Chicago’s Patrick Kane after time on chance after chance, the Wild have scored just In overtime, Mikael Backlund scored on a delayed penalty defenseman Ivan Usenko added the fifth to move to their scored in the first period and that was enough for the once over their last 150-plus minutes on the ice. call to decide it and cut the series deficit to 2-1. Joe Colborne team to second place in Group B together with Slovakia Blackhawks to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference “Two things: character and belief,” Wild coach Mike Yeo had a short-handed goal for Calgary, while Brandon Bollig with seven points from three games. The United States semifinal series. Game 4 is in Minnesota again today. said. “There will be no feeling sorry for ourselves. We’re disap- also connected. But Sam Bennett’s close-in shot, which leads with nine points. “I thought the last two periods we Kane has six goals and five assists in nine playoff games, pointed to be in this spot, but we’ve got to find a way.” seemed to barely sneak over the goal line, was disallowed in played really strong,” Belarus goalie Kevin Lalande said. bouncing back impressively from the broken collarbone that Calgary was also staring the barrel of a 3-0 deficit when it the third period after a video review. “We have to play 60 minutes against teams like Finland, kept him out of the last quarter of the regular season. trailed into the final minute of regulation time against in- Patrick Maroon, Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey scored for USA and Russia. If we take one minute off, it’s gonna hurt “We’d be very happy if you told us we’d be in this position form Anaheim, but pulled out a vital 4-3 victory in overtime the Ducks in their first loss in these playoffs after they swept us.” — AP before the series,” said Kane.