MUHAMMAD Ali’s shorts from his epic “Thrilla in Manila” fight with Joe Frazier could fetch £5million at auction.
The late boxing great beat his rival in 14 brutal rounds in 1975 but called the bout in 120F heat “the closest thing to dying”.
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The signed pair of his trademark white with black trim Everlast shorts are up for grabs in Sotheby’s New York Sports Week.
Of the fight, Ali said: “It was like death. Closest thing to dying that I know of.”
The event was hosted in the Philippines and was said to have been as hot as 120 degrees under the overhead lights and the pair fought for 42 minutes.
Ali added: “We went to Manila as champions, Joe and me, and we came back as old men.”
The Joe Frazier who stepped into the ring that muggy morning never left it.
His vision was compromised for the rest of his life, and the 31-year-old only fought twice more before retiring.
Ali boxed for six more years, retaining, then losing, then recapturing heavyweight titles.
In 1984, just three years after retiring from boxing, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
He died at the age of 74, after three decades of battling the disease, on 3 June 2016.
The sale will also feature Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan 11s from Game 5 of the 1996 NBA Finals, valued up to £317,000 ($400,000).
They form part of a collection of 50 sneakers worn by some of the NBA’s greatest ever players.