BoxRec

Battling Siki – Part 1

The 1920’s saw some great characters in the Boxing World and few come better than Battling Siki when it comes to eccentric behaviour. I have been lucky to find some great news articles about him and a few written by him about his “Rise as Fighting Champion”. Some of the comments written about him are by any standard beyond belief in the use of language to describe him and racist is putting it mildly. I mention this, as I would not like anyone to think any of the following remarks are other than direct quotes.

He was born in 1897 in St.Louis the capital of the French colony of Senegal and his name was Baye Phal. Baye is a Senegalese name corresponding to Louis. He chose the fight name of Battling Siki as it is a Senegalese word parents apply to their children “darling” in English or “cherie” in French. He adopted is as he thought, “White men could easily remember such a name”

A professor of languages in Paris wrote in one of the papers that Siki was a title of nobility in Senegalese and Phal was the name of the former Kings.

Another report was

“What kind of creature is Battling Siki. . Nothing was known of the black Senegalese who leaped into world fame overnight until after his fight with Carpentier, and then came amazing stories.
Correspondents cabled over stories that he was intellectually little more than a beast, unable to read or write, conversing mainly in grunts and fighting in a primitive aboriginal style that smacked of wild tribal life in the jungles”

Another called him the “ Fighting Chimpanzee”

In fact Siki fought all during the First World War, was wounded and awarded medals. He spoke, wrote and read French quite well. His English was not as good and spoke enough Dutch to make himself understood. How he ended up in France is a remarkable and sad story told in his own words.

“I used to go to the docks and watch the ships. One day a big ship came in en route to Marseilles and as it was to remain some days the passengers came ashore. Among there was a German woman who called herself Mme Farquenberg, a dancer who had lots of money.
She saw me a kid of eight and had me show her the city. She asked me if I wanted to go on the ship and sail to France, see other lands and have a good time.
I didn’t have time to tell my family goodbye for I feared the dancer would change her mind. In France the dancer got me nice clothes, and daily taught me to read and write. She danced in many European cities and I would go on the stage as her little servant, dressed in red velvet.
The dancer went to Germany, but couldn’t take me without a passport. She left me in Marseilles with money to care for me. I never heard from her again.
I tried repeatedly to get in touch with her, and have written since the war, but to no avail. She was kind to a black boy. Only for her I would be slogging away in Senegal’s hot climate.”

His arrival in the US well reported not least due to the stories of his crazy – some may say brilliant – antics at gaining publicity for himself. The turning point was his win over Carpentier in 1922 who it is said did very little training for the fight – Siki was viewed as a set-up. Siki was in the best of condition and found in the first few rounds that Carpentier couldn’t hurt him. Siki said of the fight that Carpentier would say to him all through the fight to lie down but Siki would only laugh and say “wait”.
As light heavyweight champion of the world he attracted more attention for what he did outside the ring.

He was often reported for being thrown out of some boulevard café or lugging a pet leopard around on a leash and firing a gun in the air if for some strange reason people didn’t take any notice. He was quite partial to the infamous drink absinthe – the stuff Van Gogh drank and we all know about the ear.

In 1923 he was seen as the supreme optimist when he went up against Mike McTighue of Ireland in Dublin on St Patrick’s Day – he lost. He apparently turned up some time after the fight dressed in a full dress suit, tall plug hat, opera cape monocle and tan shoes.

On arrival in the US one report was as follows

“Though he has appeared on the streets of New York, a subdued vision in pearl grey, he hasn’t attracted the slightest notice.
New York is surfeited with freaks and it would not pay undue heed to an ordained bishop in a Navajo blanket”

However Siki soon solved that little problem. He started giving exhibitions in an obscure theatre “The LaFayette. He neglected to obtain permission for this and was summoned before the magistrate and thus broke into print for the first time in weeks. The financial dealing that went on to get Siki to the US is an interesting story in itself and I shall leave that for another time.

Part 2 of this story will follow soon. He was such a fascinating man and I will deal more with his life than try and comment on his ability as a boxer. I hope people find this of interest

interesting article rob, good work.
i once read that when siki knocked out carpentier in the sixth the ref tried to save the honour of the hero of france by dq siki for tripping.
there was a riot and the ko eventually stood.
also his loss to mctigue took place in dublin, on st. patricks day and in the middle of the irish civil war!!! gunfire could be heard outside the hall.
it also claimed that siki, as brave as he was, thought discretion was the better part of valour that night.
probably would have lost anyway but those tales from years ago are what make boxing history so interesting.
keep up the good work mate.

thanks glad you found it interesting.

I have an article about the mad ref. I will have look as I seem to remember it took an hour to get him to change his mind. Maybe he didn't like the wise cracks from Siki
As for the fight in Dublin I can well see Siki thinking it was great fun with the guns going of in the background. The other material I have is full of material on his madcap life and although tragic in parts it is in the main very funny.

I am about halfway into Part 2

If your considered the first bit about his antics odd the next contains some absolute gems of crackpot stuff. He makes Tyson look a level headed gent.

we may get a part 3 ?

robert.snell1 wrote:thanks glad you found it interesting.

I have an article about the mad ref. I will have look as I seem to remember it took an hour to get him to change his mind. Maybe he didn't like the wise cracks from Siki
As for the fight in Dublin I can well see Siki thinking it was great fun with the guns going of in the background. The other material I have is full of material on his madcap life and although tragic in parts it is in the main very funny.

I am about halfway into Part 2

If your considered the first bit about his antics odd the next contains some absolute gems of crackpot stuff. He makes Tyson look a level headed gent.

we may get a part 3 ?

From what I've read of Siki he was actually intelligent and sensitive but had a waekness for drink.... he was also treated very badly in America and I this hurt him a lot and may explain why his behaviour became increasingly erratic..... 8)

Siki was a fan of the booze make no mistake on that score. One report said he had been arrested in every language.
In now way to my mind was he stupid - he was on the other hand a bit of a loose cannon.

Siki was an interesting character but not a great fighter. Loose cannon is a bit of an understatement. The man was literally run out of almost every country he visited for his absolutely anti-social behavior. He was in the process of being deported from the USA when he was murdered here. Not long before he was shot and killed he was taken to the hospital for a stab wound. The doctors ordered him to stay in bed because of the seriousness of the wound, he simply got up and forced his way out of the hospital. He was murdered not long after.

I have about half of his fight with McTigue on film. I agree that he was robbed in that fight. McTigue did nothing but run in the footage I have. Siki made the fight. McTigue had a bad habit of relying too heavily on defense in his fights (thats a nice way of saying that he simply ran, held, and covered up on the ropes).

Its true that the in the Carpentier fight Siki was initially disqualified only to be given the win after a near riot. Films bear out that there is indeed a tangle of the feet which contributed to the final knockdown of the fight but at that point Carpentier was A: taking a beating, and B: Didnt rise from the knockdown which depending on the rules would have made Siki a winner anyway. It was a dirty match with both fighters fouling and ugly rumours persist to this day (probably true) that the only reason Siki was chosen for a championship fight was because he was A: An unexceptional fighter, and B: Paid to lay lose.

Siki was strong, durable, and had a good punch. Aside from those three qualities he doesnt really stand out as a talent. He was crude, and often made mistakes that better fighters were able to capitilize on.

Another interesting note about Siki is that he was often, in the racist jargon of the day, said to be from "dark jungles of Africa" etc. He said himself that nothing could be further from the truth, in fact he had never even seen a jungle. It was also said that he was a War hero during WW1, it was said that he wiped out an enemy machine gun nest. Recent research suggests that in fact he may have slaughtered a group of unarmed German prisoners.

Like I said colorful.

I agree that loose cannon does not describe him well. He was not to put to finer point on it a NUT case of the first order. Some of his antics are so funny that I just cannot help laughing.
Not the best advert for boxing though.

He had several managers - surprise surprise – and I think it must have been easy for people to spot the next unlucky guy to take up the gauntlet as he would have undergone a sudden hair loss and gone grey .

I would love to see some of the footage of the 2 fights , the Carpentier one must look good especially if it picks up Siki thumping the manager .


As you say Siki got his medal the “Croix de Guerre” for single- handedly knocking out a machine gun post but I suppose the new suggestion could equally be correct. Having a “Negro “ hero must have had some considerable appeal to the French political machine so facts didn’t get in the way of a good story.

The second part of what I am putting together covers the Carpentier fiasco in some detail , its more interesting than the actual fight.

Thanks a lot for the additional info and hope to hear more after I finish part 2

Part 2

To say Siki’s path to the US was an easy affair would be quite an understatement. The carpentier fiasco made sure of that. Siki admitted later the fight was fixed but he didn’t keep his end of the deal. Not only did he win – after being reminded by his corner and Carpentier he was to lie down – he went on to thump Carpentiers manager in the ring.
So the decision – already reversed once on the night was later changed again after they decided to ban him for 9 months. They wanted 2 yrs to start with but relented. He was non-to popular with the French authorities , he was arrested for appearing in uniform of the Algerian Rifles – he served with them for 4 yrs- on Armistice Day.
Carpentier’s manager (who was the guy Siki Thumped) actually appealed for clemency, which was given, for Siki. However this may well have been in the vain hope that Siki would keep silent about the fix they had all arranged. Siki said about the fix that when Carpentier hurt him he forgot about the agreement.

Well Siki had no intention of being silent and soon after told the world that the fight had been fixed
The French had a big investigation and said it was all false. A remarkable example of saving national pride would be hard to equal.

In Sept Siki was besieged with offers from the US to match him up with any prominent light heavyweight including Harry Greb, Gene Tunney and Tom Gibbons.

The McTigue fight was another classic as far as publicity goes. Ireland was having a civil war and the Republicans threatened to kidnap the fighters or throw bombs. Spectators walked to the theatre between rows of guards, armoured cars where on the corner and machine guns by the plenty. The spectators had their attention a bit divided by the fight indoors and rumours of a battle outside. A landmine had already exploded near the venue beforehand.

His first important fight shortly after arriving in the US was with Kid Norfolk and put up a good fight, losing the decision in 15 rounds. His manager at this time was Papa Bob” Levy who had taken him to Jersey for several weeks to train for the bout. He apparently trained hard until the night before the fight drank several bottles of beer. His overnight weight gain required him to do some road work on the day of the fight to make the required weight.

The fact the fight ever took place must have come as a great surprise to those involved not least the State Athletic Commission. They had delayed in granting him a licence because they were not convinced he would be in physical condition. Siki was with his 3rd manager since arrival and the fight had been cancelled twice on short notice due to requests made by Siki.

On a trip to Cuba he was taken ill with pneumonia and promptly escaped from the hospital. He would ride round in a taxi for hrs – with no money – and end up in a police station waiting for “Papa Bob”.
When he returned to the US he was broke and held on Ellis Island pending deportation. Papa Bob levy turned up and showed them a bankbook, which he had kept away from Siki, and they let him go.
To keep in training he had several brawls with some of the local dockworkers.

He lost as many as he won in the US and his most important was with Paul Berlenbach who knocked him out. This was a brutal fight with Siki admitting defeat only after terrible punishment.

1925
Siki was in hospital getting stitched up after what the reporter described as “in the course of some social misunderstanding in the region known as hell’s kitchen, he had chinned himself on somebody’s razor”. His wife “a buxom belle, about the colour of a well used cavalry saddle “ went to the hospital to see whether she was about to be a widow and Siki “jumped from his bed, slid down the banisters and attired only in his night-shirt, raced along the street until he found a friendly taxi driver”. Shortly after he was killed in the same area, where he lived, after being shot.


I finish this account of his oddball life with the following story, which is a classic, and tragic, example of the way in which he lived his short life and the way fame and money did no favours to the young man from Senegal. Maybe that encounter with the women at the dockyard was not the wonderful thing he once said it was.

December 1st 1923 - full un edited article available on request-

Battling Siki Climbing Trees and giving his money away chases manager off street

Siki is loose on the countryside somewhere near Summit N.J terrorising the inhabitants. His manager Robert Moe Levy has abandoned hope of recapturing him until he can organise a hunt with some trained Senegalese hounds. He was last seen hopping from tree to tree, chattering in a weird fashion near the health farm.

It seems Siki had demanded custody, on Sunday night, of some of the money from the Kid Norfolk fight. “Sucker that I am I gave him a whole thousand dollars” saying “now. Siki don’t do anything foolish with that money. Better you should put it in the bank, or maybe I could invest it for you”.

“ As soon as I had given him the mazuma he was gone” his parting words to Siki being he shouldn’t drink any of the local gin as it would give you splinters in your insides. He later found that Siki was giving imitations of a Dark Coal Oil Johnny in Harlem and giving away money. On hearing this Mr Levy got a taxi and went to the rescue only to find his worst fears had been justified when he found Siki fraternizing with the local talent and giving money away. Siki turned on him, with the backing of the local beneficiaries. Levy fled, with the pack after him, and after eight blocks Siki and the pack gave up.

Levy obtained reinforcements and eventually overcame Siki and got him back to the Health Farm Levey had to pay the taxi as Siki was broke. As soon as the taxi door opened Siki was of into the woods.

Only one wire has been received in answer to the general alarm sent out. A local farmer said, “ Large animal chattering viciously fatally bit my prize Great Dane. Tried to seize it by the tail, but it had none. Is it yours? “

Mr Levy is said to be bewildered by the entire proceedings. “It is the first time I tried to keep a Senagalese”. “First I won’t find him, then I am afraid I will.Maybe if he had trees of his own to play in he wouldn’t run away like he done. wish I could train him so he could chase Billy Gibson and he wouldn’t chase me. If you should see him tell him if he would come back everything is forgiven”