MUHAMMAD ALI is causing a stir in boxing once again but this time in the world of auctioneering.
‘The Greatest’ who sadly passed away on June 3, 2016, aged 74 made his name around the world thanks to his incredible abilities in the ring and his way with words outside it.
One man who was on the end of many a verbal jab from Ali was Joe Frazier. Their trilogy of fights between 1971 and 1975 is legendary for so many reasons and their final joust against one another on October 1 in the Philippines took both men to the very edge of what was possible in the squared circle.
After 14 rounds in the Philippine heat Ali beat his greatest rival. Frazier’s eyes were shut, and his trainer Eddie Futch pulled him out of the fight. It was the second consecutive victory for Ali over Frazier after the Philadelphian memorably defeated his nemesis in “The Fight of the Century” on March 8, 1971.
Forty-nine years on from one of the most brutal contests ever to take place in boxing the trunks Ali wore during the fight are now up for auction.
The iconic Everlast white trunks, with black trim features the autographed signature of Ali could fetch a staggering sum of $6 million dollars at Sotheby’s in New York City. The lot closes on April 12 with the current bid sitting at $3.8 million.
Drew “Bundini” Brown, an infamous part of Ali’s training team, had the trunks in his possession before they were discovered in a storage unit belonging to him. His unpaid storage unit was sold in April 1988 seven months after his death. The trunks were then acquired by foot specialist and surgeon Andrew Heller who then sold them through Sotheby’s in 2002 before they were auctioned twice in 2012.
