The Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers fight is recorded through the celebration planned around it and the stark reason that celebration went without its guest of honor: Ali was too badly hurt to attend. In Andy Warhol’s diary, the bout’s immediate social afterlife—a conditional invitation, a party at the Americana, and an unexpected encounter—takes precedence over any account of the action in the ring.

Plans Tied to the Result

Richard Weisman sent down tickets to a party for Ali, with the invitation explicitly contingent on Ali winning his fight with Shavers. The arrangement made the celebration depend on the result: the tickets were not simply for an ordinary night out, but for a gathering organized around Ali’s possible victory.

The Party Without Ali

Warhol later cabbed to the party for Muhammad Ali at the Americana. It became one of those parties where guests were “Waiting for Nothing”: Ali never came, and those present were told that he had been too badly hurt in the fight. The diary supplies no account of the bout itself or its score, but makes the injury the decisive fact explaining the empty place at the celebration.

An Unexpected Encounter

Although Ali’s absence defined the occasion, the party produced another boxing-related meeting. Warhol met a Black woman boxer who invited him to watch her box. The invitation gave the otherwise disappointing gathering an unexpected continuation: the fight that had drawn the guests was recounted as a reason for Ali’s absence, while a new invitation opened the prospect of seeing another boxer in action.