Rumors continue to fly that Manny Pacquiao’s toughest fight may be with furious wife, Jinkee
Manny Pacquiao, international boxing superstar, may have some domestic issues.
I could have written on this topic while I was visiting Pacman at the Wild Card Gym while he was studiously prepping to systematically demolish Miguel I’m No Angel Cotto.
Or I could have written about in the prefight runup in Las Vegas as constant rumors swirled about sexy Pinay actress Krista Ranillo being lodged in the gambling mecca and “on the down low” in terms of an affair with the married with children Manny.
Homewrecking Hottie? Krista Ranillo
I decided that, using the old Angelo Dundee maxim that if doesn’t affect the fighter’s ring performance then it should be a non-issue, not to pen an essay on only rumors and innuendo.
But now my hand is forced to report to you that rumors continue to run rampant about Megamanny and Ranillo and a possible divorce between the fighter and his gorgeous wife and mother of their four children, Jinkee.
Here’s the latest, including a firm denial from Ranillo and a non denial from her husband, as reported by the Manila Bulletin.
I’ve heard continually from Filipino sources that the couple will hit splitsville sometime soon, even though Jinkee flew from Manila to the US for the fight with a party of eight.
Word has it that Pacquiao may not be opposed to a divorce but that his preference is to keep a lid on the matter until after next May’s Congressional election in which he will make his second attempt at winning a political office in his homeland.
Now, and here is where Dundee’s Domestic Rule comes into play in my alleged mind, if there is a divorce (and I hope there is not as I am a big Jinkee fan), what effect will this have on promoters seeking to make the huge Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Pacquiao mega bout?
And, if the fight does proceed as I suspect it will by May or September of 2010, what kind of mental outlook will Pacman have if he’s undergoing or has just weathered a bitter marital breakup?
I was hoping this issue would go away but it won’t.
Manny better realize such social speculation comes with the territory like paparazzi trailing Mike Tyson, wife and children through LAX after he landed on a flight from London.
For Pacquiao, what happens in Manila, Las Vegas or GenSan, won’t stay in those cities.
At the recent media day at the Wild Card, Pacquiao was observed by not one but two familiar Pinoy priests.
I am no expert on married life but maybe Manny could get some counseling on his situation from either or both of the padres or some other qualified person.
I do know that divorce is no joking matter in a heavily Catholic nation like the Philippines.
In fact, according to this law blog of a law firm there, divorce is against public policy and against the law in that country.
Let me make it clear. Whether Pacquiao has one wife, 10 wives or is suddenly among the world’s most eligible bachelors makes me no never mind.
But, just like the marital woes Muhammad Ali had when he foolishly brought girlfriend (later to become his third wife) Veronica Porsche to meet Pinoy President Ferdinand Marcos and shoe crazy wife Imelda at Malacanang in 1975, right before the third Ali-Frazier bout held in Manila, anything that happens to and around Pacquiao is news, big news.
The good news for fight fans, I guess, that just as furious then wife Belinda, jetted back to Chicago, Muhammad was still able to compose himself enough to get into the ring at Araneta and come out victorious in the classic bout which only ended when Coach Eddie Futch (Freddie Roach’s trainer and mentor) refused to let Frazier take any more punishment.
Winner Ali was so battered he described the grueling fight as being “near death.”
Muhammad later married Porsche and former boxer Laila Ali is one of their children.
Stay tuned…
