LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao’s lovely wife, Jinkee, will not be at ringside when the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer faces the biggest fight of his life.
Jinkee is eight months pregnant with their fourth child, a girl, and they’re just making sure than nothing untoward happens inside the MGM Grand on fight night.
“I might give premature birth,” said Jinkee during Thanksgiving party the boxer threw for friends and relatives in his apartment unit at the trendy La Brea area here.
“Manny didn’t want me at ringside because something might happen to me. So this will be the first time I’m not going to watch his fight live,” added Jinkee.
She’s always been at ringside in all of Pacquiao’s big fights here, those against Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera.
This time it will be different.
“I’m eight months pregnant and I might get stressed. I would have gone if only I was six months pregnant,” added Jinkee.
Instead, she will have to watch Saturday’s bout from the comforts of their Mandalay Bay suite which is a few big blocks away from the fight venue.
“I will stay in the room and watch it from pay-per-view,” said Jinkee, who is due on the last weeks of December or the early weeks of January.
She’s staying behind after the fight while Pacquiao goes home to celebrate his 30th birthday on Dec. 17, and hopefully, a victory.
Jinkee was against Pacquiao facing Dela Hoya, but said she couldn’t do anything about it because her husband really wanted the fight.
She said it makes her nervous at times, thinking how big Dela Hoya’s advantage is over her husband when it comes to height and reach.
“Oscar is so big. And I told Manny that if he goes on to fight him, I will not go and watch the fight,” Jinkee told scribes a few months back.
But now she has to accept that fact that on Dec. 6, the man of her life will be in for the biggest test of his career.
“This is his biggest fight. We all know that Dela Hoya is really good and fast so I’m a little nervous. I really didn’t want this fight,” she said.
Jinkee felt it was too soon for Pacquiao to fight Dela Hoya, considering that there are atill a number of boxers lining up for a big fight against him.
“But they made the decision. Manny really wanted the fight. Anyway, I felt confident when Manny said he can beat Oscar. When he says he can do something he can do it.”
While she’s hoping for the best, Jinkee is also preparing for the worst.
“We must accept whatever happens – win or lose,” she said. – Abac Cordero