Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Isray made a massive move at a late night auction, walking away with Muhammad Ali’s ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ belt for $6 million.
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Isray has put in time and effort to build the Colts into a playoff contender, but his venture took a step off the field. The Colts owner is one of the richest NFL owners, and he put his money to good use in auction, adding to a growing historic collection.
At an auction, Isray managed to walk off with Muhammad Ali’s WBC championship belt which he won in 1974. The ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ victory of George Foreman in Zaire marked a historic fight win in the legend’s decorated career.
His winning bid was worth $6 million. $6 million is a lot of money, but for Isray, he can afford to take a hit like that. Jim Isray’s net worth is $3.5 billion.
Jim Isray wins $6 million piece of history in Muhammad Ali’s belt
The bidding was high and it was ferocious. Isray battled it out with other people to take hom Ali’s belt for $6 million with betting going on till 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
The belt had been auctioned before as well in 2016 where it sold for $358,500 and in 2017 for $120,000. This belt is one of the rarest in history as well. As per Heritage Auctions, this belt is one of two of Ali’s WBC belts. The other belt is held in a private museum, but it is unlikely that it will be sold.
Jim Isray is a massive Muhammad Ali fan. He already owns the shoes Ali wore in the in 1975’s “Thrilla in Manila” which the legendary boxer wore in his famous win over Joe Frazier. Isray also purchased the walkout robe Ali wore right after changing his name from Cassius Clay which came in a rematch fight against Sonny Liston in 1965.
Isray is a massive collector. From rare rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia (including Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour for $4 million) to drumsets owned by the Beatles, and even documents written by America’s founding fathers, Isray has it all.
However, Ali’s belt goes far beyond the value of any of his other items, both monetarily and in terms of how historic it is. Ali is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, if not the greatest.
He was the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship three times, and he successfully defended his title 19 times. The Colts owner seems to have made himself a massive Ali fan over the years.
Currently, Isray is hoping for a bounce back season from his team. The Colts shockingly lost to the last place Jacksonville Jaguars 26-11 in their final regular season game to miss out on the playoffs.
This offseason, the team rotated quarterbacks again, bringing in former Falcons star Matt Ryan. Isray will hope his team can turn things around.
