BY ALEX P.VIDAL
Was he a victim of intrigue fomented by envious characters regularly forming a beeline in Manny Pacquiao's growing bandwagon? Did he leave the team voluntarily after being tormented by a romantic liaison gone awry?
For sure, Joaquin "Kino" Hagedorn Jr. did not accept a job from Team Mayweather for espionage.
We have not seen Hagedorn in Pacquiao's last three fights in Arlington, Texas (twice ) in 2010 and recently in Las Vegas, Nevada. Strange.
The tall Mexican-American (former?) boyfriend of Janet, twin sister of Pacquiao's wife, Jinky, has been a regular and active member of Team Pacquiao.
In 2008, I called him the "Walking Encyclopedia of Team Pacquiao" in an exclusive article distributed by the Philippine News Service (PNS) to major newspapers, TV and radio stations in the United States, Europe and Asia.
TOP STORY
PNS editor Rufino "Pinoy" Gonzales II said the article topped the list of request for Pacquiao story that year along with the Filipino lefty's cruel knockout win over Chicago-based David Diaz because of the readers' curiosity of the then 35-year-old mestizo Mexican, seldom seen on HBO and in public eye tailing the ring heartthrob like a publicity glutton.
The last time I saw Hagedorn was during the post mortem press conference of the Pacquiao-Miguel Angel Cotto WBO scrimmage in Las Vegas last Nov. 14, 2009 -- his right hand locked around Janet's waist while Janet's eyes were seen tottering towards handsome middleweight prospect Yuri Foreman, who fought in the undercard (no pun intended, Janet).
"I told you so," he smirked at me, his voice guturral in excitement. "Cotto was brave but Manny was too strong for him." Because I was busy taking down notes of Bob Arum's braggadocio, I gave Hagedorn a thumb's up sign to acknoweldge his oratorical brilliancy.
He then gave me a copy of the Sports Illustrated magazine. I haven't heard from the Las Vegas-based gentleman since that evening.
INTERVIEW
My first interview with Hagedorn happened first week of August 2008 at the pre-departure area of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) when I arrived from a business trip in Vancouver, Canada via Phoenix, Arizona.
He first waved at me like a long lost friend even if we hardly knew each other when he spotted me wearing a red "Team Pacquiao" shirt designed by Texas-based pediatrician, Dr. Allan Recto.
"Can I offer you a cup of coffee or something?" he volunteered. We then proceeded to the Starbucks Coffee inside the airport and ordered Cappuccino and cake.
ALABANG
Hagedorn's father Joaquin Sr. used to live in Alabang in Metro Manila. He has fond memories of the Philippines having stayed at EDSA in Makati for three months in 2001. He visited the country months before our meeting and went to Janet's province in Davao.
He described the people in Davao as "so friendly and they have smiles in their faces most of the time." Hagedorn said he was impressed with life in the province "because the roots of the Filipinos are in the province."
"There is something in the Philippines that struck me; I felt like home," he stressed. "One day, I want to settle there." (For more details about that interview, please visit http://philboxing.com/news/story-18819.html)
The grapevine said Hagedorn and Janet have called it quits but nobody has come forward to confirm the yarn. And besides, private love affairs are none of our business.
DISAPPEARANCE
His sudden disappearance from the limelight though has provoked some thoughts. There were reports that Hagedorn left the circle "totally downhearted." They did not elaborate.
Janet was reportedly seen in the company of a male "friend," a member of a popular Manila band during Pacquiao's conquest of Antonio Margarito in Arlington in November 2010.
Hagedorn would be a big loss to Team Pacquiao. He is amiable, quick thinker, intelligent and always tots accurate facts about the sport.
Even if he is not a Filipino, he is closer to most of us Filipino writers; in fact, closer than some fractious Filipinos milling around the boxer-cum-congressman in the circle.
Assuming that he has parted ways with Janet and is no longer part of the team, the nagging question will still remain: where is Team Pacquiao's "Walking Encyclopedia?"
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