Muhammad Ali v Oscar Bonavena fight-worn gloves Pair of boxing gloves worn by Muhammad Ali in his bout against Oscar Bonavena on 7 December 1970 at Madison Square Gardens, New York, for the NABF and Lineal Heavyweight Championship Everlast gloves, lettered inside the grip '21086 MSG', each bearing signature on the manufacturer label of Angelo Dundee, and further inscriptions on the inside 'Bonavena 12/7/70', 'KO 4', 'M Ali #1', and cornerman 'F. Morris' each approx. 29cm long Footnotes: FROM THE COLLECTION OF HIS TRAINER OF 21 YEARS, ANGELO DUNDEE, these are Muhammad Ali's gloves from his fight against Oscar Bonavena on 7 December 1970. Returning from his enforced absence for refusing the Vietnam draft and preparing for a rematch with the Champion Joe Frazier, Ali described this fight as the toughest he ever had. After a three-year hiatus from boxing, Ali returned to the ring in the second half of 1970, though he needed court orders to enable his first two fights. He fought Jerry Quarry, his only fight in four years before opting to face Oscar Bonavena, the 'iron-tough' Argentine heavyweight at Madison Square Gardens, NYC. His absence from the ring had allowed Joe Frazier acknowledgement as the heavyweight champion, with no tougher fights than those against Bonavena. The only way Ali could be taken seriously in such a short space of time was to prove himself against the same acknowledged challengers. The bout against Quarry was stopped early, in the third round, after a cut forced the referee to intervene; Ali therefore remained largely untested and with what seemed to be a lack of his previous speed and agility. Just six weeks later he faced Bonavena as the WBA's No 1 ranked contender, the two fighting for the vacant NABF title. At the pre-fight medical the two boxers had words, and for once Ali found himself almost outmatched in terms of the trash-talk, with Bonavena questioning Ali over his non-participation in Vietnam, calling him by his previous name of Clay and finally lambasting him as a 'chicken'. Ali responded, letting his opponent know he would speak to him in the ring and urging the audience to get to the theatres... 'as I have never had a man, I wanted to whup so bad'. The pre-fight sparring continued with Ali predicting 'He'll be mine in nine'. Ali, established as a clear favourite, seemed to be favoured by the judges in the fight of fifteen rounds, although the Associated Press had marked the fight only just in his favour (7-6-1) going into the last round. As some had feared, his slightly sluggish performance allowed Bonavena his fair share of the contest and the two fighters traded plenty of blows, each taking their fair share of punishment and defying the bookies' expectations. Bonavena worked his way into the fight in the fourth and fifth rounds and in the round Ali had predicted the fight would finish, he shook 'the Greatest'. The final round however was crucial as Ali caught Bonavena advancing and knocked him down. Instead of retreating to his corner as was mandatory, Ali hovered over his opponent despite the referees urging and engaged straight away knocking him down a further two times, triggering an automatic stoppage. Although this somewhat controversial finish caused the only knockdown of Bonavena's 68-fight career, he acknowledged Ali as a true champion and predicted that the highly anticipated match-up with Jo Frazier would go Ali's way. Ali in return has been quoted as saying that this fight was the toughest he ever had and there is no doubt that after such a long layoff it is ranked by some as one of his gutsiest and impressive performances. Provenance: Angelo Dundee (1921-2012), signatures and autograph note on his notepaper 'I took gloves home after fight and signed inside [sic] Angelo Dundee'; by descent to his son Jim Dundee; SCP Auctions, California, 31 November 2012, lot 18, with Jim Dundee letter; private collection. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * * VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing