By Ronnie Nathanielsz

A cartilage in Filipino and Asian boxing hero Manny Pacquiao’s right year reportedly ruptured badly in the “Fire Power” showdown against WBO welterweight champion  Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas last Saturday, causing some blood which had to be drained out by Dr. Jeffrey Roth.

However, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who is a personal friend of Dr. Roth indicated there was no cause for concern in the light of the pleas by Pacquiao’s mother Dionisia,  for Pacquiao to retire following his record-breaking seventh world title in seven weight divisions and her fears that Pacquiao could get seriously hurt if he continues to fight.

Pacquiao’s conditioning expert Alex Ariza revealed that the  cartilage "ruptured very mildly during training camp and we were treating it throughout. But Cotto clearly landed some good shots on that ear and it ruptured badly.”

BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports learned that Dr. Roth who is a plastic surgeon had to drain more blood on the day after the fight along with some fluid to prevent the blood from hardening and causing a cauliflower year, similar to that of some wrestlers.

The Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, lawyer Keith Kizer told us that after the fight “both boxers were in good spirits and there were no major concerns.” At the same time Kizer made it  clear that  Dr. Roth “does not work for the NSAC but was brought  in by Top Rank.”

Ariza said that while Pacquiao hadn’t spoken about what he’d like to do next or whom he wants to fight, “Manny loves his fans, he loves the sport, he loves the attention and I don’t see Manny going away from the sport for a while.”

At the same time Ariza expressed the hope that “ if getting into politics is what Pacquiao wants to do, more power to him but I hope it doesn’t interfere with his boxing.”