Muhammad Ali’s WBC belt, gloves and shorts from the Rumble in the Jungle expected to fetch £1milllion at auction
Ali beat undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman in Kinshasa in one of the greatest fights ever
MEMORABILIA from one of the greatest boxing matches ever will go on sale at a London auction in September.
The WBC belt belonging to Muhammad Ali after he won the Rumble in the Jungle is expected to fetch more than £1,000,000 at the sale - Ali beat the previously undefeated champion George Foreman in a gruelling contest in Zaire.
His famous white and black shorts from the same fight have been valued at £100,000.
A pair of gloves from Ali's second victory over Floyd Paterson in 1972 are also to go on sale.
Known as The Greatest, the late Ali will be remembered as one of the best and most important sportsmen ever.
Winning 56 of his 61 fights, Ali enjoyed memorable rivalries with some of the best to ever step into the ring, including Foreman, Sonny Liston and Joe Fraizer.
In the golden age of boxing, Ali won the world heavyweight title three times and also an Olympic gold medal, as Cassius Clay in 1960.
RELATED STORIES
Ali died aged 74 in June, having suffered from a respiratory illness that was complicated by his long battle with Parkinson's disease.
Ali was banned from boxing after refusing to serve in the army after being drafted for the Vietnam War.
He as an outspoken civil rights campaigner and had earlier converted to Islam.
The Rumble in the Jungle saw Ali use the 'rope-a-dope', where he sat on the ropes and soaked up punches from Foreman, allowing the bigger man to tire and picking him off in the later rounds.