As part of its mission to share the story of global sport, QOSM has curated a collection of objects from some of the most notable historic moments and distinguished personalities in sport history.
This boxing glove belongs to perhaps the most charismatic athlete ever: the one and only Muhammad Ali.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, Ali started boxing at only 12 years old, and climbed up the ranks of the sport with every match. While he was also famous for landing verbal jabs at his opponents, his boxing prowess was what spoke volumes, defeating every top professional heavyweight boxer of his time.
His skill and confidence took him to the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where he won a gold medal in the heavyweight category.
His freestyle poetry, including lines such as ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’, perfectly described his phenomenal speed and grace in the boxing ring. And his fearless, rhythmic stylings were so profound, many of the world’s biggest hip-hop artists, such as Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, credit Ali with being the inspiration behind their own powerful lyricism.