This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/21/2006.
On March 31, 1973 at The Sports Arena in San Diego, California, Muhammad Ali fought then unknown boxer Ken Norton. Norton had gained experience as an old sparing partner of Joe Frazier and also from being trained by Eddie Futch, who had plotted Frazier's defeat of Ali two years prior. Futch instructed Norton to jab Ali back to the ropes and then work from Ali's head down to his body. In the second round, Ali was forced back into the corner where Norton then exploded with a straight right into Ali's jaw. This not only caused Ali to lose two back teeth but the force of the blow fractured Ali's jaw bone. Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee wanted to stop the fight at this point, but Ali would not let him. The fight continued through until the end of the 12th round at which point Ali lost a narrow points decision. This is a 40oz glass bottle covered vertically in tan masking tape. It has "Ali's" written in black pen in script along two sides of the bottle on the tape and is somewhat faded. It is accompanied by a letter stating "To Whom It May Concern, On March 31, 1973, I, Max Rago Henig, was present at the Heavyweight Championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton in San Diego, California. I was seated ringside with my father, Alex Henig, the Greatest Sports and Entertainment Promoter of all time. We were personal guests of Gene Kilroy, a major part of Ali's training and promotions teams at the time. He accompanied my father, Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, and myself to the fight and we sat close enough to witness the Great Ali receive the jawbreaking blow and continue fighting to the end. Ali used this water bottle during that fight to rinse blood from his mouth and later to douse sweat from his head. Mr. Gene Kilroy presented this to my father and me as a token of his friendship, at this once in a lifetime event. Sincerely, Max Rago Henig". The bottle is in very good overall condition, showing a sweat stain at the base. Some of the tape is beginning to fray at its edge.