The owner of an American sports club succeeded in obtaining Muhammad Ali’s belt, which he achieved after winning one of the most famous boxing matches in history, for a huge amount.
Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from his 1974 heavyweight title fight “Rumble in the Jungle” was sold at auction on Sunday for $6.18 million.
The winner of the heated auction for the belt was Jim Irsai, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, according to Heritage Auctions in Dallas.
In a tweet on Sunday, Irsay confirmed he had the belt for his collection of rock, American history and pop culture memorabilia currently touring the country.
BREAKING—-Muhammad Ali’s
championship belt from 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ when he employed his rope-a-dope and defeated George Foreman—-just added to @IrsayCollection Just in time for the Aug. 2 show at Chicago’s Navy Pier (and Sept. 9 at Indy). Proud to be the steward!🙏 pic.twitter.com/REJOGV1Cwq— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) July 24, 2022
The belt will be shown on August 2 at the Marine Tourist Pier District in Chicago and on September 9 in Indianapolis.
“Proud to be the winner,” Ersay tweeted.
“After several hours of watching two bidders go back and forth over this belt, this proved to be a well-deserved battle,” Heritage Sports Auctions Director Chris Ivey said in a statement.
The 1974 fight was one of the most memorable moments in boxing, as Ali prevented “scary” George Foreman from regaining the heavyweight title in the African nation of Zaire.
Ali won the fight by knockout in the eighth round.