The genuine torn glove worn by Cassius Clay in the 1963 fight against Henry Cooper

The genuine torn glove worn by Cassius Clay in the 1963 fight against Henry Cooper

The Holy Grail of Muhammad Ali memorabilia finally comes into the light after being hidden away for 61 years

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The most controversial glove in the history of boxing was sent back to the manufacturers Bailys Tanneries immediately after the famous 1963 bout for inspection and was also subjected to a full laboratory report by leather suppliers Pittards of Yeovil, Somerset .

After receiving a massive left hook from ‘enry’s ammer’ the then Cassius Clay was dropped to the canvas seconds before the bell of round 4, jumping straight to his feet, ushered back to his corner where Angelo Dundee worked frantically to revive his protégé who was clearly dazed and very disorientated.

Out of desperation to gain more time and revitalise Clay, Dundee resorted to using smelling salts, he then made a small nick in the left hand glove across the front knuckle area. He called over Tommy Little, the referee, to show him the split and made it larger by pushing his finger into it. Being informed that there were no spare gloves, Dundee sent his man out to round 5 and he eventually caused the cut over Coopers left eye to bleed so much that the fight was stopped and Clay was declared the victor.

We believe this will probably be the only the time the glove will be offered for sale, we invite bids ahead of the auction on 18th June.

Estimate between £1.5 and £3 million

The glove comes with a hand written letter from the MD of Baileys describing its provenance together with MD’s cv, the deeds to the factory and original Mirrorpic photo of the round 4 knock out.

A once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase this amazing piece of history .

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We do our best to photograph/explain the condition of the item as best we can.   If you have any questions about a particular item please contact us.