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HSC: 1959 Cassius Clay Pan Am. Trophy Muhammad Al

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:14,000.00 - 18,000.00 USD
HSC: 1959 Cassius Clay Pan Am. Trophy Muhammad Al
<B>1959 Cassius Clay Pan American Boxing Trials Finalist Trophy.</B></I> Leading up to the Finals of the Pan-American Games Trials, young Cassius had notched thirty-six consecutive wins, a streak that would be broken by a left-handed Marine named Amos Johnson on May 1, 1959. It would be the last fight the future Champ would ever lose as an amateur. Offered here is the trophy awarded to Clay for reaching the last round of the Trials, dating from the day before his final amateur defeat. Ali would not falter in the ring again until a Frazier left hook in the fifteenth round of their March 1971 Heavyweight Championship bout resulted in a unanimous decision against him. And so this piece stands as a unique milepost in the career of boxing's greatest star, certainly one of the most interesting Ali pieces to reach the auction block in some time.<BR><BR> The trophy exudes a simple charm, seeming somewhat incompatible with the brash greatness of the man to whom it was issued. It stands seventeen inches tall, featuring a golden boxer standing atop a handled loving cup that rests on a tiered bakelite base. The affixed engraved plaque expresses, "3rd Pan American Boxing Trials, April 30, 1959, 178 1/2 Lb. Class, Finalist." Condition is fantastic, and we make note of minor restoration to the boxing figure only for the sake of full disclosure--even the most eagle-eyed among us could not spot the work otherwise. <I>LOA from Craig Hamilton/ JO Sports.</B></I>