By the time Nonito Donaire Jr. realized his gaffe—his "sonic boom" post—it had already elicited off-putting remarks from a few members of the press.
During his exclusive interview with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal), the boxing champ shook his head, and simply said, "It's a joke."
But some were saying it was ill-timed.
Hot on the heels of his feat as the new WBC and WBO Bantamweight World Campion was the squaring off with his dad, Nonito Donaire Sr.
The sports world was still reeling from his knockout fight with Fernando Montiel when he put out this remark in the social networking site (published as is):
"Chino, Pinol, n Ampong. Shut up n Leave my family alone: the Donaires n Marcials, esp my wife. Keep talking n ull feel what Montiel felt. U won't see it, ull just feel it. Sonic Boom!!"
REVISITING THE ARTICLES. Filipino Flash did not tell exactly why he mentioned only those four names. Actually, he had this no-controversy stance when PEP went to their home in Alabang Village. He seemed diffident about the interview. But with a bit of persistence on our side, his wife Rachel agreed to grant us about an hour of their time.
Contrary to some feedback that this couple had used the issue to be constantly in the limelight, Rachel said that in her capacity as the "business manager" of the popular boxer, she had chosen the people that they would speak to.
During Nonito's training, the former Taekwondo champion related that she'd usually ask reporters their reason for wanting to have a word with her husband."If there's something about the intriga, the phone call will end. And the ones that did interviews, they respected that it should only be about sports," she said.
She neither wanted to fan the flames nor magnify the issue.
It will be recalled that the couple rarely spoke about the feud that began in 2008.
Manny Piñol's November 10, 2008 article titled "Donaire Father-Son Team Faces Inevitable Split Due to Wife" was said to have hurt the younger Nonito the most, and supposedly widened the gap between him and his dad.
A portion of the article posted in Philboxing.com, stated (published as is): "But the sweet smell of success, and of course the financial rewards that come along with a world boxing crown, filling the air of the Donaire abode is now starting be spoiled by the foul odor of a souring relationship between father and son and this is mainly of Nonito Jr.'s new wife, taekwondo jin Rachelle Marcial.
"And unless something is done fast to remedy the situation, patch things up and put things in their proper places, what used to be a beautiful relationship between father and son—trainer and boxer—will soon come to a bitter end."
Manny wrote two related items, dated November 14, 2008 and February 9, 2009, before Junjun spoke lengthily about his family's feud more than two years later—January 6, 2011 to be exact—in Tris Dixon's article "Nonito Donaire: The Sadness Behind The Smile," which was published in Boxing News.
