NYU Black Renaissance Noire Spring 2015 | Page 17

The sports writers who considered Liston to be an ape didn’t buy Liston’s excuse that a shoulder injury led to his quitting on his stool during the first fight with Ali. Turns out that he did suffer from a shoulder injury, bursitis, which was verified by medical inquiries. The Miami Boxing Commission knew about the injury before the fight, but refused to postpone the fight, which, nowadays, is routine. Furthermore, Liston didn’t stop the first fight. His manager did. Not only did the sports writers’ politicians and celebrities disdain Liston, but the public also saw Liston, as in the words of Geraldine Liston, the champion that no one wanted. Such rejection sometimes brought Liston to tears. When Liston appeared on the cover of Esquire as Santa Claus some members of the public lost it, totally. Esquire lost $700,000 in advertising m