HOW SIKI WON.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3145, 27 November 1922, Page 2

HOW SIKI WON.

"Smashed to a wreck by the Senegalese.' was Mr Trevor Wignall's summing up for the Daily Mail of the SikiCarpentier fight in Paris. "Carpentier,'' he continued* "was :is lifeless as a man still having life can ever lie. His handsome face was distorted by weals and gashes. He was to all intents and purposes blind, blood was gushing from eyes. nose, and mouth and he had to be supported in hi* chair. In a long experience of boxing I have never seen anything quite t-o tragic. The fight started as a jest. Carpentier. more handsomely groomed than I hive ever seen him. climbed into the ring wearing an expression eloquent of contempt, and boredom. Siki in the first round was extraordinarily ineffective. He adopted a pose that was singularly monkey-like. Rent over to his right, with the right glove almost touching the floor, he advertised 1 lo the vast gathering that the chief of his companions was nervousness. He twitched from his knees to his ears. Carpentier. I am convinced, could have finished the affair in the opening round had he liked. but it was obvious he desired to give the .'A). 000 who had gathered to see him value for their money. He played' about, disregarded chances, and treated Siki as he would have treated a brother to whom he was giving lemons. The third round opened with a thrill. •for Siki. rushing in, met in thump to tho chin that put him down for seven seconds. 'The fight looked to he all over, but almost as he rose the colored man swung with all his force, and clippod Carpentier fairly on the point. It wars a lucky blow, but Carpentier sank at once, and l remained down for five seconds. "When he rose his face was drawn, and there was an expression of anxiety in his eyes. He glanced at Dcscamps, who was gesturing furiously, and made the mistake of inviting a bout of in-lighting. It was a prodigious error. Siki had become confident in himself. He welcomed the priceless opportunity of short-armed blows to the head of his opponent, who had been badly staggered. Long before the end of the round Carpentier was bleeding There was a lump under his right eye the size of a large egg, and the left was closing. He returned to his corner in the manner of one whose hopes bad been shattered. The weariness of the ages was on his shoulders, an expression of disillusionment was on his face, and (50 seconds after the fourth round started be was in a terrible condition*. His features had been transformed. They were gory and almost too horrible to behold. Siki plastered him with blows, and Carpentier. too weak to stand, accepted them because he could not avoid them. The fifth round was of a sort I never wish to see again. Carpentier was not only loudly cautioned by the referee for butting, but also loudly hooted by the crowd. The sixth round lusted SO seconds. It represented a lifetime of thrills. Carpentier had to he thrown out of his stool. Siki met him with the violence of a gale. Fie Ava.s, so far as I could sec. unmarked. Carpentier was beyond description, hut for SO seconds he ' fought with the fury of a savage no ' boxing. !t was the kind of thing that 1 must have been popular when men 1 settled their disputes with stone hatchets. It was a primeval throw-back to ( the earliest days. Siki was in his glory. r lie had forsaken defence. He was J drunk with the prospects of victory, f

and so he fought madly and terrifically. Carpentier suddenly collapse and settled on his side. He had no knowledge of what had happened. Then came the verdict —Siki disqualified— Carpentier wins." Passions on the instant were let loose. Fifty thousand people rose in their seats and howled themselves hoarse. Memory ranges over many scenes of excitement, but never have I witnessed one that equalled this. The verdict stood for the better part of an hour, and was reversed only after the three judges had met and considered all the circumstances. As T write Siki is being carried in triumph along the Boulevards. The crowds are cheering and adulations are being poured on him. He deserves his big moment, for ho did to Carpentier what no other man save Dempsey has ever done." Criqui, the French lightweight, regarded the fight as a catastrophe. He accused Carpentier of having amused himself in the ring. "When you get into the ring you get in to fight, not to play," he said. "It is terrible punishment."