Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from his 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” heavyweight title fight was sold at auction on Sunday for $6.18 million.
The proud owner of that belt is Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. In a tweet Sunday, Irsay confirmed he acquired the belt for his collection of rock music, American history and pop culture memorabilia that is currently touring the country.
“Proud to be the steward!” Irsay tweeted.
What’s crazy is that are two copies of that belt and the other one closed at a price significantly lower than what Irsay purchased his belt for.
“There are two belts that were awarded to Ali for Rumble in the Jungle. One went up in Bundini’s collection. That sold last night at Heritage for $6.1M. The other, which has provenance to Cassius Clay Sr and Ali himself, is on Collectable. Closed Friday at $299k+, or $7/share.”
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The Colts owner also purchased Ali’s shoes from a 1975 victory over Joe Frazier and Ali’s walkout robe from his first fight after changing his name from “Cassius Clay,” which came from a 1965 rematch against Sonny Liston.
Irsay’s Colts are coming off a 9-8 season where they lost their last two games to miss the playoffs. They traded quarterback Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders while acquiring veteran quarterback Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.
Frank Reich is entering his fifth season as the team’s head coach.
