Thousands of hours of research have gone into proving that a damaged Muhammad Ali boxing glove was used by the great fighter in a pivotal fight. The glove is tipped for a six-figure sale in an online auction closing this month.
Ali used the glove in a fight against Henry Cooper in 1963. At the time the American fighter was known as Cassius Clay.
Stuart Bull, of Stuart Bull Auctions, believes the glove could realise between £4 and £6 million.
The gloves were supplied for the fight by the British Boxing Board of Control, who commissioned Baily’s of Glastonbury to make them.
They were fashioned from sheep leather (from the cape hair breed) that had been dyed in Yeovil at Pittards Tannery.
Baily’s received the damaged glove back after the fight. A relative of a former managing director of the company is selling the glove.
Mr Bull told the BBC: “From the moment of meeting the family, I had realised that we got the genuine thing.
“It also came with a letter of provenance along with the deeds of the factory and the actual knockdown.”
The glove’s claim now comes backed with a 65-page research document.
“We believe it’s probably the most important boxing glove Cassius Clay ever wore,” Mr Bull added.
Although Cooper looks much the worse for wear here, he gave Ali (then Cassius Clay) a good run for his money, becoming one of four fighters to knock him down.
The fight with Cooper led to a change in boxing rules. The damage to the glove caused a pause in the fight just after Cooper knocked Ali down. After this fight there needed to be a spare pair for every fighter at ringside.
Sports memorabilia is performing well at the moment. Ali remains an extremely popular and well-known figure, both as a sporting hero and a political figure.
His Rumble in the Jungle belt sold for $6.2 million. Earlier this year, a pair of boxing trunks worn during the Thrilla in Manilla fight were listed with an estimate of $4 million to $6 million but the sale has been postponed.
The present sale closes online on October 31.
