The brash Clay was equally disliked by reporters and his chances were widely dismissed. Lester Bromberg's forecast in the "New York World-Telegram" was typical, predicting, "It will last longer than the Patterson fight—almost the entire first round." The "Los Angeles Times" Jim Murray observed, "The only thing at which Clay can beat Liston is reading the dictionary," adding that the face-off between the two unlikeable athletes would be "the most popular fight since Hitler and Stalin—180 million Americans rooting for a double knockout." "The New York Times" regular boxing writer Joe Nichols declined to cover the fight, assuming that it would be a mismatch. By fight time, Clay was a seven-to-one betting underdog. Of the 46 sportswriters at ringside, 43 had picked Liston to win by knockout.