The gloves worn by The People’s Champion Muhammad Ali in the bout billed “The Fight of The Century” against Joe Frazier in 1971 will be put up for auction.
The gloves will be placed on the auction block on Thursday night, July 31, 2014, at an auction event called the Heritage Auctions’ Sports Collectibles Platinum Night Auction hosted by the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio. These Everlast gloves worn by Ali in this bout serve as not only a symbolic artifact for sports but also an antiquity for a transcending era of culture in the early-1970’s.
The Fight of The Century bout, held at Madison Square Garden, that pitted Ali against Frazier in 1971 is perhaps the most significant event in the history of boxing. It was particularly an opportunity for Ali to regain the Heavyweight Title. Both Frazier and Ali came into the fight with an unblemished boxing record looking to defend the title.
However, this was the first big fight for Ali since being reinstated into boxing after having his boxing license stripped for three and a half years for refusing to join the armed forces in 1967. Prior to his ban from boxing, Ali was the undisputed heavyweight champion after defeating Sonny Liston in 1964 in a seven-round TKO when Ali was still Cassius Clay.
The 1971 fight between Frazier and Ali was one of the many events that have historically sold out the Garden. This could further explain the value of Ali’s gloves. This will not the first time Ali’s gloves have been placed on the auction block. Ali’s gloves worn in his symbolic bout against Sonny Liston in 1964, when Ali was 22 years old, have been auctioned in the past by Heritage at a final bid of $836,500.
Photo Credit: Stampcircuit.com
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