Legendary Muhammad Ali Glove Heads to Auction
A British auction house claims to have an authentic left-hand glove used by Muhammad Ali in his fight against Henry Cooper at Wembley Stadium on June 18, 1963. The glove, signed by Cooper and not Ali, is red, made of sheepskin, and lined with cotton.
The Origin of the Glove
The glove’s origin is linked to Baily’s Tanneries, a factory from Glastonbury that secured an exclusive contract with the British Boxing Board of Control to make boxing gloves for significant fights in the UK. The glove was made by Percy Green, June Griffin, and Lilian Whitcome and ended up in the hands of Richard Mayers, CEO of Baily’s, who gave it away to the current owner’s family in 1992.
The Defect and the Signature
The glove has a defect in the knuckle area, which led to it being returned to the factory after the fight for analysis. The glove was later signed by Cooper in 1980 to add value to it.
A Previous Claimed Authenticity
In 2001, Christie’s auction house put up for auction a pair of gloves claimed to be the ones Ali used at Wembley, but they were sold for £37,600 and were later revealed to be not authentic.
Authentication and Auction
The auction house is keen to prove the glove’s authenticity, providing documentation and being willing to take a DNA test if necessary. The glove is expected to fetch half a million pounds at auction in June 2025, coinciding with the anniversary of the fight.
More Ali Material Up for Auction
This is not the first item related to Muhammad Ali to go up for auction. In recent months, Sotheby’s New York auctioned off the pants Ali wore against Frazier in the ‘Thrilla in Manila’, which sold for $3.8 million, a 40-fold increase from its 2012 sale price of $150,000.
