LOS ANGELES, California — It was just one of those ordinary days at the Pacquiao residence when Jinkee Pacquiao, wife of Filipino boxing superstar Manny, clicked on her husband?s website and read a report that casually mentioned Oscar De La Hoya as a possible Pacman foe. It didn?t take long for the 29-year-old Jinkee to voice her objection to that possibility. ?I didn?t like it; I felt like that fight shouldn?t happen,? she told journalists in Filipino late Thursday evening during a Thanksgiving mass and dinner held at the Pacquiaos? Palazzo residence in La Brea here. ?I told Manny that there are other opponents he can fight. I asked him to pick any one of them, just not De La Hoya.? But Jinkee was eventually overruled by a whirlwind of events that all led to this: On December 6, Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine boxing hero, will climb the ring and face the sport?s biggest name right now and its acknowledged ?Golden Boy,? Oscar De La Hoya. Not only did Jinkee?s suggestion go unheeded, but this will also mark the first time she won?t be at ringside to cheer her husband on — the boxer?s wife is eight months pregnant. ?I?ll probably just watch in my hotel room,? said Jinkee, adding half-jokingly that ?if I watch at ringside, I might get too stressed and give birth there.? After all, Jinkee concedes that this, indeed, is Manny?s ?biggest fight; the one that really makes me nervous. We all know De La Hoya is a very good boxer.? Ironically, though, the first person to object to Pacquiao-De La Hoya is now the first to defend the bout against critics who call it an utter mismatch. ?I believe in Manny,? Jinkee said. ?When they finalized the fight against De La Hoya, I saw that he really wanted this. He told me he?d do everything to win the fight and I believe him.? Others may say that Pacquiao had finally bitten off more than he could chew in signing for the De La Hoya gig. Just don?t tell that to Jinkee, who knows deep inside her that this is the Pacman they?re talking about. And the Pacman doesn?t merely chew. He gobbles. ?If he says he can do it, then I believe he can win it,? she said firmly.
