Featured Exhibit
"Surgeons Cut Clay-Liston Fight" Newspaper Clipping, November 14, 1964
Donated by Philip Faversham in 2015.
An Unexpected Operation
On the evening of November 13, Muhammad Ali lounged in his 10-room suite at the Sherry Biltmore Hotel with several of his entourage members, settling in to watch a movie after a day of roadwork. Suddenly, Ali sprung from his seat and hurried to the bathroom, vomiting inexplicably. Soon, he was demanding to be taken to the hospital, knowing that something was extremely wrong. Not wanting the media to get wind that the champ was sick, Ali was escorted to an ambulance through a back service entrance of the hotel with a towel over his head.
Once examined at the emergency room at Boston City Hospital, doctors determined that Ali was suffering from a incarcerated inguinal hernia and was immediately taken to surgery to repair it. The following day, the attending surgeon stated that the champion would not be fit to train again for at least three months; the fight was postponed.
Regardless of the postponement, the Chairmen of the Massachusetts Boxing Commission, Herman Greenberg, remained in high spirits and assured fight fans that, "...the fight will definitely be held in Boston because all parties concerned are under contract to hold the fight in this city."
Surgeons Cut Clay-Liston Fight - New York World Telegram, November 14, 1964
