 Good afternoon For those of you who may not know me I am Ingrid P. Lewis Martin the chief advisor to our mayor Eric Adams and today is a great day in the city of New York New York has an illustrious history of first We celebrate so many firsts and Today we get to celebrate a trailblazer who has been forgotten from the annals of history But today under the leadership of our mayor and the world's boxing commission We have counsel. We have the privilege of Introducing to many of you who may be unfamiliar with the world of boxing a gentleman who was named Lewis Falls He was the first man of African descent who came from Senegal and And he immigrated to America and he resided in New York City To become the world's boxing champion heavyweight So he's forgotten in history, but we did not forget about him today a few days ago would have marked his 100th anniversary and so it's a pleasure for Mayor Adams the honorable Champ I know during the campaign used to say the champ is here, but the champ is really here. The champ is here Roy Jones, Jr. A world champion in four different divisions The presidents of the world's boxing council who cares. That's the foundational arm miss Jill diamond And later on we will have a special guest who's running a little bit late to celebrate our daily departed brother Who was the first who made yet again history and we have some babies with us from the Eagle Academy Yes, and their instructor. So we're happy to have you join with us So without any further ado, I'm going to say the names of all of the speakers in the order in which they will speak And I'm going to remove myself. So our first speaker will be the world champion Roy Jones, Jr. Then we will have our president Jill diamond and hopefully our special guest will be here And then I will come back to do the honors of properly introducing our man. Thank you Thank you. I just want to say thank you to everybody that's involved in marriage assistant Everybody that had anything to do with this thing It is so beautiful to honor someone who meant so much to the support of boxing that we didn't know about He really meant so much to the world. He was a trailblazer and what's so from prominent to me Is the fact that first Jose Suleiman Marisa Suleiman the president of the WBC Asked me to come here to represent WBC That was the first and foremost honorable thing of all but to come and represent a guy That was a trailblazer at my weight class because the only division that I was Undisputed champ was light heavyweight, which was what battling seeker did So for him to go through so many things and still to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish That was another time that people didn't have the right to do the things that he did when God says it's for you No matter what they say nobody can stop you from getting it He got it way back then in 1918 with 1922. So that's been September 24 22 a hundred years You understand so to be the first to blaze a trail like that means more to me than anything Because there have been a hundred six years since somebody at one in middleweight light heavyweight and heavyweight title And our goal is to go out and blaze trails. These are the kind of people that set those examples for us without people like Him without better with battling seeker without him doing what he did It wouldn't inspire us to go out and do better or do more than what we do So he's a perfect example of a person in a time when it should not have happened Did way more than he should have been allowed to do and that is a trailblazer for real So thank God for him one thing New York think everybody involved in ironing this guy And I look forward to seeing more of these type of activities down the line. Thank you God bless y'all and so good to see you little guys here I hope you go back and do your history on this man because this man is something special to the world period not just World of sports, but the world period because one day you guys gonna look forward to looked upon to blaze a trail or something You understand me y'all job now. God bless y'all Thank you It's a privilege to be here and to read this letter from WBC president Mauricio Suleyman This with great joy that the World Boxing Council Representing a hundred and seventy five countries Celebrates the life of battling Seekie the first athlete born in Africa to win the world championship in any sport our sincere gratitude goes to Mayor Eric Adams for stepping into the ring and Recognizing the historic moment which happened 100 years ago And we thank his chief advisor Ingrid Lewis Martin who worked passionately to make sure this historic moment took place right here in New York City Lewis fall battling Seekie conquered glory by defeating legendary George Carpentier in France Winning inside the ring, but sadly and regrettably losing his life outside of it He settled in New York a place. He called home Those times of extreme racism and discrimination must not be forgotten But must inspire us to continue building bridges of faith and love to make this a better world a Dedicated and talented boxer a war hero a person of humor and intelligence a role model for all and generations to come This legend must not be forgotten We thank you all for being here to pay tribute to a champion who rose from the slums Who raged against discrimination and despite all odds became the king of the ring? Mauricio Suleyman WBC president. Thank you So timing is always important and Our special guest has arrived most timely. We have the council general of Senegal LHG and Dow who will now say a few words Please Thank you apologies again for being a bit late New York traffic, you know But thank you very much. We are honored again to be here alongside the great mayor of New York our good friend a good friend of Africa mr. Gaddam's It's an honor again to be here to celebrate bravery I would say Barik fall aka battling sickie a bit of a bit of a Well, he Represented bravery the reason why I say that is that someone who are the teenager in the 19th century Who in the early 1900s were they able to? Travel to Europe to a new setting to a setting that is not he's natural setting to leave Africa at a time when You know he was made to believe that his Dignity is not that of a human being for him to Thrive and get to a point where he believed in his human capabilities and abilities To get to a point where he got to the top of the world of boxing I think that needs to be heralded and celebrated. So the fact that the the mayor's office recognized that and the mayor himself being here to honor the memory and The achievement of late battling sickie is something that on behalf of the government of Senegal the president of Senegal and on behalf of the people of Senegal we are grateful I would like to Say that battling sickie But you know Growing up and I was speaking to my sister. I set a camera from your office the other day because She said she spent some time in Senegal as a kid You know growing up there were the box of matches and We all grew up, you know Seeing that the the brand of the of the box of the the box of matches was the boxer and Then it was the picture of battling sickie on top of it We never knew who was battling sickie because of course, you know, we were later generations But you know when I told her it was actually battling sickie on and then we all went. Okay. Now we know so he Is very well cherished in Senegal and in Africa and we are honored again to witness here in New York that His bravery and his achievements. I recognize. Thank you. Thank you so much. And you know when I Did my DNA, you know part from Senegal, so I'm honoring a fighter and a spirit and energy doesn't matter of you the top of the world as a royal champ or the top of the Royal as the mayor of the city of New York You will overcome obstacles and hurdles and I think that's why it's so important to have these scholars from the Eagle Academy representative of the symbol of soaring to higher heights and battling sickie known as as affection affectionately known as Lewis fall the first African to win a championship, you know, look at the time you have to think about the time he was born in 1897 a different not only a different Africa, but a different glow as a young child in the second world war The first world war he joined the French army receiving two awards for bravery was the indicator of who he was going to become At 15 he took a boxing and it just really points out how important sports is as we Know that and we want to continue embrace that from 1919 to 1922. He won a 43 bounce out of 46. He was almost as good as Roy Jones. Not as not as good, but a close You know But you know 43 out of 46 he refused to Throw a fight one time he was asked to throw a fight, but he stood up. Not only did he stand up To fight in a ring, but he stood up to fight outside the rings in front of 40,000 spectators in Paris The battle in the sea key became the new world champion and he took that fighting spirit in lifestyle Extremely flamboyant lifestyle. He enjoyed partying or walking his pet lion around Paris and but he was a Person that was larger than life That was the symbol that he showed But he also always stood up and fought with what was right overcoming racism and hardship was at the Heart at the heart of his short life and not throwing a match. He exposed the corruption in French boxing But he also exposed racism that existed. It's unfortunate. I like to have so many young people He too lost his life at a young age Dying at the age of 28 His legacy lives on and it's an inspiring future for so many and it's imperative that when we think about boxing and those like Chambroy Jones, Muhammad Ali Mike Tyson, they all look towards him as a symbol of what being in a ring is about and going against Of the arts and so many levels those arts were multiplied by a thousand folk Looking at the time that he was around as I stated a different globe a different country in a different place But he arose out of all of that. And so today we want to give Lewis Balin sticky fall day here in New York on behalf of all New York is 8.8 million New York is Whereas since his shocking tragic and untimely passing in 1925 at the age of 28 falls legacy continues to live on Throughout his career fall fought to overcome Adversity and racism and was known for his humor Intelligence and natural talent as a boxer today I am immensely proud to honor the life and many achievements of Lewis fall and join and commemorating the 100th anniversary of his Royal Championship victory I applaud the Royal Boxing Council for his efforts to celebrate and carry on battling Seekies inspiring legacy I Eric Adams mayor of the city of New York Congratulations, and thank you so much for bringing this history to life Stand up here