Battling Siki – The First World Boxing Champion From Africa

[Larry the boss]

[Ivich]

God he was crap!

[Willie Pep 229]

When Siki took the title from Carpentier in late fall 1922 everyone suddenly forgot about Harry Wills for three months and started calling for a Dempsey-Siki bout.

If you place Harry Wills's name in the NYTimes archive search engine for 1922, hundreds of entries appear. Narrow the search to two days after Siki beats The Orchid Man, to the end of the year (December 31st) and Wills disappears; he has only two search results and both them involve Siki.

It seems racisit white society had room for only one 'colored' champion at a time.

[Willow The Wisp]

When Siki took the title from Carpentier in late fall 1922 everyone suddenly forgot about Harry Wills for three months and started calling for a Dempsey-Siki bout.

If you place Harry Wills's name in the NYTimes archive search engine for 1922, hundreds of entries appear. Narrow the search to two days after Siki beats The Orchid Man, to the end of the year (December 31st) and Wills disappears; he has only two search results and both them involve Siki.

It seems racisit white society had room for only one 'colored' champion at a time.

The height of Jim Crow.

[QueensburyRules]

- - Siki won the title off Carpentier on a exceedingly rare triple foul combination that left Carp a gimp. Prior to that Carp had been beating him up in what was supposed to be an "private exhibition agreement" that triggered the foul. He was initially DQed by the ref because of it.

This was one of the earliest fights using judges that we can thank or curse the French for. Prior, the ref was the sole arbiter who was overruled, maybe for the first time in history.

Siki was an abject drunk and easy roll on the street. Sorta like today's Boner, he had 2 cents for brains and always in trouble.

Wills was a doable fight as the various finances during that time prove, but politically the Dempsey fight was two decades ahead of it's time. Siki as an unknown African ain't gonna stir the gates, and his record in America however brief is as miserable as his death...R.I.P...