Almost 50 years after the “Rumble in the Jungle”, the world champion belt won by Muhammad Ali has been auctioned off for 6.18 million dollars.
Almost 50 years after the famous “Rumble in the Jungle”, boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s world championship belt won in Kinshasa has been auctioned off for 6.18 million dollars (6.05 million euros).
Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts from the US professional football league NFL, secured the valuable piece of memorabilia.
He was “proud to be the caretaker”, the passionate collector wrote on Twitter. Ali, who died in 2016, had received the world championship belt in 1974 after his triumph over the previously undefeated George Foreman. The fight took place in the then capital of Zaire and Ali claimed the heavyweight crown with an eighth-round knockout.
Irsay is expected to present his latest conquest at an exhibition of his collection in Chicago in August.
The 63-year-old owns, among other things, the world’s most important guitar collection, a Beatles drum kit and the original handwritten script to the classic film “Rocky”.
