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Kirt
Sinnette, at right, faces-off with Julien Tannis of Barbados
before their bout last Friday. Sinnette won by a knockout
in the second round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Referee
Tommy Thomas (back to camera) gives instructions to the fighters
as a Tannis handler looks and listens.
Photo:
David Wears
BY
EVERARD GORDON
Kirt Sinnette, smooth as silk in his movements in the ring,
light on his feet and shifty, presenting a difficult moving
target, hits out at his opponents with precise punches that
are more powerful than appears from the safety of outside
the ring.
He is the most promising of the professional boxers that now
give T&T hope of another world title.
It did not happen overnight. Sinnette is now 30-years-old
and has paid his dues. He had 67 amateur bouts and has appeared
at Commonwealth, Pan Am, and all the Caribbean championship
meetings, representing T&T with honour and always putting
forward his best effort.
Sinnette is the middle of five siblings, two brothers and
two sisters, none of whom box though his father, Gilbert Hall
did as a welterweight, but not with great success.
He got into boxing quite accidentally through a school friend.
He had attended the St Dominic’s R.C and later the Morvant
Laventille Secondary where a class mate took him to watch
fellows training at the Tigers Gym which was then in George
Street Community Centre.
It was a short step from looking to wanting to put on gloves
and try his hand at it and in time, one of the trainers, Stanley
Hoyte, let him have a go at the light bag, watching his moves
and thinking ‘this boy has possibilities.’
Well he began training regularly and in time, aged 13 years
and weighing 126 pounds, he had his first bout and lost on
points. He could not remember his opponent’s first name
but it was a Johnson, brother of Ulric Johnson, former local
champion and Commonwealth rated featherweight boxer. “I
never had the opportunity to reverse the decision against
him,” he ruefully recalled.
That set him off on his quest and he has since seen much of
the world as he has competed in Argentina in the Pan Am Games,
Commonwealth Games in Vancouver and in Manchester and in qualifiers
for the Olympic Games in Brazil. In addition he has won Caribbean
Championships in various islands.
Sinnette has been local champion at welter and middle weights
nine times and had some memorable bouts against Mervin Penniston,
Tony Joseph and Lincoln Winchester.
His most memorable was his battle against the Cuban Olympic
champion in Pan Am championship where he finished with a bronze
medal in 1995. He was fourth in the Commonwealth Championship
in Victoria, and qualified for the Olympic Games in Atlanta
in 1996 but lost in the preliminaries by a single point.
Since the Olympic Games, Sinnette had a period of inactivity
as a boxer. He suddenly dropped the sport and one wondered
about his absence. He did some searching in the time away.
“When I was growing up, I never felt life was just natural
and physical. I know we must be led by spirit. I wondered
about life and the purpose of man on earth. I sought and found
a relationship with God and believe that I owe all I am and
can be to Him. I am more at ease with himself and the world,”
he said.
He married seven years ago and has a very supportive wife
and three children, two boys and a girl.
He said, “When I was growing up, my mother supported
me in all my endeavours and my wife, Karen is just as supportive.”
After the Olympics in Athens for which he just failed to qualify,
Sinnette turned professional to chase another dream, a world
championship.
He has had seven bouts as a pro and won them all, five inside
the distance. He had two memorable bouts with Garfield Quashie,
winning both but having to go the whole distance each time,
as Quashie, a more experienced pro, made him work and earn
his victories.
Sinnette’s strengths are his mobility, his good punching
and his ability to throw combinations, not the least effective
is a classic uppercut which has so far accounted for two of
his knock outs.
He works with TSTT and it is instructive and pleasing to see
that his bouts are attended by a TSTT posse who come to see
their man do his thing.
“Training
is exciting, especially when I am fit and improvement is always
possible, especially when I have men like Mr Cox and Mr Hoyte
working with me,” he admitted.
Sinnette says he hopes to go to the USA to train with world
champion James Warren but that is in the future and things
have to fall right for that.
“I
am doing the best I can and if some of my young friends try
to follow me, put on gloves, boxing or cricket, I would have
done some good, whether I win a world title or not,”
said T&T’s best hope for a world title.
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