Fans file $5M class action suit against Pacquiao

Two fans filed a class action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao and his team for failing to disclose a serious shoulder injury prior to the fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. last weekend.

After losing to Mayweather by unanimous decision, Pacquiao’s camp said the fighter was trying to compete despite a severe shoulder injury. They blamed the Nevada Athletic Commission for denying him a painkilling injection prior to the fight.

The severity of Pacquiao’s injury seemed to be confirmed when it was reported Monday he would undergo surgery to repair a tear in his shoulder. But what doesn’t add up is that Pacquiao’s team, namely adviser Michael Koncz, checked “no” on a box from the commission asking whether Pacquiao had a shoulder injury. 

“Number one, Manny didn’t check the box,” Koncz told the New York Daily News. “I checked it. It was just an inadvertent mistake. If I was trying to hide anything, would I have listed all the medications on the sheet that he intended to use? We weren’t trying to hide anything. I just don’t think I read the questionnaire correctly.”

Pacquiao is now facing possible sanctions from the Nevada commission over his failure to disclose the injury. And that brings us back to the fan class action suit.

The fans filed suit against Pacquiao, Koncz, and Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank for hiding the injury and not disclosing it, letting Pacquiao carry on with the fight as damaged goods.

“Defendants prior to and at the time the plaintiffs and the class decided to purchase tickets; purchase pay per view showings or wagered on the event the defendants knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff,” the lawsuit reads via ESPN. “Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance.”

A Top Rank attorney says the claims are false, explaining that on his medical form for the commission Koncz listed all the medications Pacquiao required.

Look, we all know that promoters hide injuries all the time in order to keep fights on schedule as planned. They can’t cancel shows given all the hype and promoting they do. The problem is that Pacquiao’s team wanted it both ways; you can’t blame the commission for denying your fighter a shot when you were trying to hide an injury from them.

And the fans aren’t about to win this suit because you cannot guarantee the health of a fighter going into a fight, and paying to watch it comes with inherent risks that the show may be a dud. 

Larry Brown