Louis Mbarick Fall (16 September 1897 – 15 December 1925), known as Battling Siki, was a French
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
boxer born in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 井仆井內丐中五 (Senegaali); Arabic: 塈堻媞塈 ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R矇ewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 井仆不丐仆不五 ...
who fought from 1912 to 1925, and briefly reigned as the World light heavyweight champion after knocking out
Georges Carpentier
Georges Carpentier (; 12 January 1894 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood and hi ...
.
Early years
He was born in the port city of
Saint-Louis, French Senegal. As a teenager, he dived from the top of a cliff to fetch coins thrown by the French from the sea. He was noticed by a Dutch dancer who offered to take him to Europe, where he worked washing dishes. Then at 14 years old, he began his career in boxing. Siki's early years were inauspicious. From 1912 to 1914 he compiled a record of just eight wins, six losses and two draws.
When
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
erupted, Siki joined the French army, serving in the 8th Colonial Infantry Regiment. During the war he was decorated for bravery in battle with the
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
and the
M矇daille Militaire
The ''M矇daille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
, before being honorably discharged.
Post-war career
After his discharge from the military, Siki resumed his boxing career. In October and November 1920 Siki boxed two matches in the Concertgebouw in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. He was romantically involved with a Dutch woman, Lijntje van Appelteer, who became his common-law wife. On 16 December 1921, she had a son, Louis Junior. In this period he taught boxing at the amateur boxing club De Jonge Bokser (The Young Boxer).
From 1 November 1919, until he faced
Georges Carpentier
Georges Carpentier (; 12 January 1894 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood and hi ...
for the world light heavyweight championship in 1922, Siki compiled the impressive record of 43 wins in 46 bouts (21 KOs), suffering just one loss (on a decision) and two draws. Carpentier, the reigning World and European champion, agreed to fight Siki for the title, and they met in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km簡 (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, on 24 September 1922.
Siki claimed that he had agreed to
take a dive, but when Carpentier dropped Siki, the outraged Siki decided to get up and fight. Although he had agreed to throw the fight, he did not intend to get beat up doing so.
In the sixth round Siki hit Carpentier with a powerful right uppercut that appeared to put Carpentier down and out for the count. The referee, however, claimed Siki had tripped Carpentier, and awarded the bout to the unconscious champion on a foul. Fearing a riot from the aroused crowd, the three ringside judges overruled the referee, and Siki was eventually declared the champion.
Siki then embarked on a well publicized rampage of partying and carousing. He would walk his pet
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
down the
Champs-lys矇es
The Avenue des Champs-lys矇es (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...
while wearing his
top hat
A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...
and
tuxedo
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...
. Siki was known to fire his
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
s in the air in public as a means of prompting his two
Great Danes
The Great Dane is a large sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt wild boar and deer, and as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the largest breeds in the world ...
to do tricks. He was constantly reported drinking
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
in night clubs, and spent freely on flashy clothes and partying. He was fond of white women, and both his wives were white.
During this time offers came in from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for the colourful Siki to meet the leading
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
contender
Harry Wills
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
*Harry (American TV series), ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
*Harry (British TV series), ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
*Harry ...
,
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
champion
Johnny Wilson, and the legendary
Harry Greb
Edward Henry Greb (June 6, 1894 October 22, 1926) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Pittsburgh Windmill", he is widely regarded by many boxing historians as one of the best pound for pound boxers of all time.
He was the Ame ...
. Attempts were even made to match Siki with the then reigning heavyweight champion
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...
.
![Battling Siki in Ireland with Eugene Stuber](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Battling_Siki_in_Ireland_with_Eugene_Stuber.jpg)
Instead, Siki signed to defend his title against Irish light heavyweight
Mike McTigue
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...
on
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, L獺 Fh矇ile P獺draig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. The bout was controversial and Siki lost on decision, and so lost the title. This defeat was the first loss in a downward trend of dissipation and poor performances by Siki, which culminated in his death a little over a month after his last fight.
After the world title
After losing his European title on a foul, Siki moved to the United States. His record in the States was poor and he failed to defeat any top-notch fighters. His failure to train properly was evident; his record after winning the title was 11 wins (7 KOS), 17 losses, 1 draw and 2 no contests. It was during this time period that he suffered the only two knockout defeats of his career. On 23 July, he married artist Lillian Werner of
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, who was seven years his senior, in a civil marriage. Werner was registered as white, making theirs a rare mixed-race marriage at the time. At the time of his wedding, friends of Siki from France alleged that he was still married to a Dutch woman living in France who had born him a child two years earlier.
Even in the States Siki continued to carouse and train on booze and street brawls. Often, he would get drunk in
speakeasies
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
, refuse to pay the tab, and fight his way out.
Murder and burial
On 15 December 1925, he was stopped by a policeman who saw him staggering drunk on
42nd Street, not far from his apartment in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Siki stated that he was on his way home, and walked off. Later he was found lying face down, shot twice in the back at close range, dead at the age of 28.
The Rev.
Adam Clayton Powell, the father of
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., presided over his funeral, which was held in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, New York. He was survived by his widow Lillian Werner Phal, whom he had married a year earlier.
He was initially buried at
Flushing Cemetery
Flushing Cemetery is a cemetery in Flushing in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York.
History
Flushing Cemetery has several predecessors. In the year 1789 (64 years before the cemetery was founded), George Washington had crossed th ...
, in an unmarked grave.
There were brief ceremonies held in the Flushing Cemetery on 46th Ave and was participated in by representatives of the Senegalese government and of the African Boxing Union: a headstone was dedicated here by the International Veterans Boxing Association.
Cherif Djigo, first consul at the Senegalese Mission to the United Nations, stated "This stone represents to us a grand symbol that Battling Siki has not been forgotten".
His body was repatriated to Senegal in 1993.
Trivia
*Battling Siki vs. Carpentier was viewed by a young
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated stylewhich he termed the iceberg theoryhad a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
.
*Battling Siki was also the name of one of
Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
's commanders.
Professional boxing record
All information in this section is derived from
BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
,
unless otherwise stated.
Official record
All
newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club o ...
s are officially regarded as no decision bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.
Unofficial record
Record with the inclusion of
newspaper decision A newspaper decision was a type of decision in professional boxing. It was rendered by a consensus of sportswriters attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "no decision", as many regions had not adopted the National Sporting Club o ...
s in the win/loss/draw column.
See also
*
List of light heavyweight boxing champions
This is a chronological list of world light heavyweight boxing champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations:
Championship recognition
19031910
The light-heavyweight division was created in 1903, the brainc ...
References
*
*
External links
*
Battling Siki - CBZ ProfileAutobiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siki, Battling
1897 births
1925 deaths
Senegalese male boxers
French male boxers
French murder victims
Male murder victims
People of French West Africa
French military personnel of World War I
Light-heavyweight boxers
World boxing champions
Senegalese people murdered abroad
People murdered in New York City
Deaths by firearm in Manhattan
Sportspeople from Saint-Louis, Senegal
Senegalese emigrants to the United States
European Boxing Union champions
French sportspeople of Senegalese descent
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 19141918 (France)
Recipients of the M矇daille militaire (France)