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kenyan_cheena · 06-24-2008, 11:56 PM

JEANNETTE BLAMES REYNOLDS
FOR SIN'S DISAPPEARANCE

Thursday 10 October 2002

Back on the 25th of September an article was published in the New York Age that described an incident at a gym in North Bergen, New Jersey where a 15 year-old boy named Abram Sin walked in off the street and displayed a fantastic boxing ability to all present, including Heavyweight Boxing Federation competitor Joe Jeannette. It was written by sports journalist James Reynolds, who had actually made his way to the gym on Lincoln Street to interview Jeannette before the arrival of Sin delivered him an even more intriguing story. The newspaper received a great response to the article, hundreds of people posting on its website and writing in to voice their hopes that the youngster would one day find success from his god-given ability. In addition, a number of media outlets sent reporters to the North Bergen gym the next day to get a look at Sin in the flesh, their presence making it near impossible for Jeannette and the other fighters to train effectively.

Jeannette had been surprised and bemused by the media turnout, but that was before he had seen the article. When he read what Reynolds had written the World Championship contender was furious, appearing on ESPN's SportsCenter to refute a number of points the journalist had made. Jeannette asserted that he had never given Reynolds his okay to take notes or write an article about Sin, claiming he would have "had to be crazy" to do such a thing. He also said that Reynolds had exaggerated Sin's efforts while sparring with Mickey Walker (where he claimed the youngster floored Walker twice) and denied saying the words Reynolds attributed to him in the last line of the article, referring to Sin as "the future of Heavyweight boxing".

"Man, I'd have to be the lowest of the low to do that to the kid," Jeannette had said. "Anyone with half a brain'd know a story like that'd have the buzzards runnin' for their slice of the pie. I just met Abram for the first time that afternoon. Hell, yeah, he's one talented kid, one with a load of promise. But what you think I'm gonna do? Make the kid a story on the evening news? Invite every journalist onto the doorstep of my gym? Y'all gotta be kiddin' me, man."

Jeannette went on to say that the parts of the article where he discussed Sin's ability with Reynolds were true, but he also added that after Sin left the gym the journalist sat down with him and they spoke on his own career and Jersey Pride for "close to an hour".

"Funny how none o' that's in the article, ain't it?" Jeannette added.

The following day Reynolds stood by his story, claiming every word he'd written was true. Some raised the possibility of Jeannette sueing Reynolds for defamation but the boxer dismissed it.

"That's ridiculous, man," Jeannette had said. "Ain't gonna take the guy to court over this nonsense. There's just three of us who know how that afternoon went down: me, Reynolds and the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm comfortable knowin' the truth of what happened, so there ain't no reason to pursue it further. Question is, is Mr. Reynolds comfortable? The dude can't look in his heart and say he is."

As mentioned, the excessive media presence at the North Bergen gym made it difficult for the stable of fighters to train. In particular, Jeannette's efforts to provide Sin with some quality time were greatly hindered. A couple of days later Jeannette journeyed to Jamaica for fellow Jersey Pride member Mickey Walker's big fight against Sydney gold medallist Mike McCallum. Before leaving he instructed Sin to take a break from the gym while he was gone, telling him to "spend some time" with his family and "work out at home". Well, Jeannette and co. arrived back in Jersey this past Sunday and in the time since there's been no sign of Abram Sin. The young boy appears to have vanished into thin air.

"I'm not sure what happened while we were gone," said a frustrated Jeannette. "The kid didn't turn up here, just like I said to him. But I'm wonderin' if some of those newspaper guys tried to track Abram down at Church Square, where he live. Gotta say there'll be hell to pay if they scared him off, or worse. I'm gonna have to go out there to find the kid, least see that he's okay."

"I blame James Reynolds for all o' this," Jeannette continued, incredulous. "He doesn't write that article and none of these leeches come 'round here with their noses sniffin' out a story. This kid came to me 'cause he wants to learn how to be a fighter and if Reynolds had just left it alone we could've been trainin' Abram in peace and anonimity, you know? But it's all been blown up by these leeches, man. They make me sick. They really do."

For now, the whereabouts of the young man known as Abram Sin remain a mystery. It will be interesting to see if he resurfaces in the days to come...

*** Note: see post #1730 (page 87) for the 25 September article on Abram Sin ***

06-24-2008, 11:56 PM	#1777 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,621	JEANNETTE BLAMES REYNOLDS FOR SIN'S DISAPPEARANCE Thursday 10 October 2002 Back on the 25th of September an article was published in the New York Age that described an incident at a gym in North Bergen, New Jersey where a 15 year-old boy named Abram Sin walked in off the street and displayed a fantastic boxing ability to all present, including Heavyweight Boxing Federation competitor Joe Jeannette. It was written by sports journalist James Reynolds, who had actually made his way to the gym on Lincoln Street to interview Jeannette before the arrival of Sin delivered him an even more intriguing story. The newspaper received a great response to the article, hundreds of people posting on its website and writing in to voice their hopes that the youngster would one day find success from his god-given ability. In addition, a number of media outlets sent reporters to the North Bergen gym the next day to get a look at Sin in the flesh, their presence making it near impossible for Jeannette and the other fighters to train effectively. Jeannette had been surprised and bemused by the media turnout, but that was before he had seen the article. When he read what Reynolds had written the World Championship contender was furious, appearing on ESPN's SportsCenter to refute a number of points the journalist had made. Jeannette asserted that he had never given Reynolds his okay to take notes or write an article about Sin, claiming he would have "had to be crazy" to do such a thing. He also said that Reynolds had exaggerated Sin's efforts while sparring with Mickey Walker (where he claimed the youngster floored Walker twice) and denied saying the words Reynolds attributed to him in the last line of the article, referring to Sin as "the future of Heavyweight boxing". "Man, I'd have to be the lowest of the low to do that to the kid," Jeannette had said. "Anyone with half a brain'd know a story like that'd have the buzzards runnin' for their slice of the pie. I just met Abram for the first time that afternoon. Hell, yeah, he's one talented kid, one with a load of promise. But what you think I'm gonna do? Make the kid a story on the evening news? Invite every journalist onto the doorstep of my gym? Y'all gotta be kiddin' me, man." Jeannette went on to say that the parts of the article where he discussed Sin's ability with Reynolds were true, but he also added that after Sin left the gym the journalist sat down with him and they spoke on his own career and Jersey Pride for "close to an hour". "Funny how none o' that's in the article, ain't it?" Jeannette added. The following day Reynolds stood by his story, claiming every word he'd written was true. Some raised the possibility of Jeannette sueing Reynolds for defamation but the boxer dismissed it. "That's ridiculous, man," Jeannette had said. "Ain't gonna take the guy to court over this nonsense. There's just three of us who know how that afternoon went down: me, Reynolds and the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm comfortable knowin' the truth of what happened, so there ain't no reason to pursue it further. Question is, is Mr. Reynolds comfortable? The dude can't look in his heart and say he is." As mentioned, the excessive media presence at the North Bergen gym made it difficult for the stable of fighters to train. In particular, Jeannette's efforts to provide Sin with some quality time were greatly hindered. A couple of days later Jeannette journeyed to Jamaica for fellow Jersey Pride member Mickey Walker's big fight against Sydney gold medallist Mike McCallum. Before leaving he instructed Sin to take a break from the gym while he was gone, telling him to "spend some time" with his family and "work out at home". Well, Jeannette and co. arrived back in Jersey this past Sunday and in the time since there's been no sign of Abram Sin. The young boy appears to have vanished into thin air. "I'm not sure what happened while we were gone," said a frustrated Jeannette. "The kid didn't turn up here, just like I said to him. But I'm wonderin' if some of those newspaper guys tried to track Abram down at Church Square, where he live. Gotta say there'll be hell to pay if they scared him off, or worse. I'm gonna have to go out there to find the kid, least see that he's okay." "I blame James Reynolds for all o' this," Jeannette continued, incredulous. "He doesn't write that article and none of these leeches come 'round here with their noses sniffin' out a story. This kid came to me 'cause he wants to learn how to be a fighter and if Reynolds had just left it alone we could've been trainin' Abram in peace and anonimity, you know? But it's all been blown up by these leeches, man. They make me sick. They really do." For now, the whereabouts of the young man known as Abram Sin remain a mystery. It will be interesting to see if he resurfaces in the days to come... * Note: see post #1730 (page 87) for the 25 September article on Abram Sin * __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 06-25-2008 at 12:15 AM.