boxing

Rare Cassius Clay Letters Up For Auction

Filed under: Sports

Most memorabilia related to Muhammad Ali isn't quite as personal as the letters going up for auction at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas and online, October 1 and 2 (the same auction where Lenny Dykstra's memorabilia will be auctioned off). The three early 1960s handwritten letters to his sparring partner written by Ali when he was still known as Cassius Clay are the earliest known Clay letters. The letters were written immediately before and soon after his light heavyweight gold medal victory at the 1960 Olympics. Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions Director of Sports Auctions says that the letters are "early insights into the mind of one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century as he makes the transition from Louisville, Kentucky amateur to international professional boxer." Each letter is expected to sell for $10,000 or more.

Tags: boxing, cassius clay, CassiusClay, muhammad ali, MuhammadAli, sports, sports memorabilia, SportsMemorabilia

Evander Holyfield Facing Foreclosure Again

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Last June former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield saw his massive 54,000 square foot home in Georgia slip into foreclosure. Now it looks like Holyfield is facing foreclosure again. The home has been listed for an auction scheduled for July 7 because Holyfield is in default on his $10 million loan.

Holyfield told The Associated Press that a settlement would be reached before the 235-acre estate is auctioned. The massive home has 109 rooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley. Holyfield has earned more than $200 million in the ring but has faced lawsuits over missed child support payments for some of his 11 children. His last fight was in December when he lost to WBA champion Nikolai Valuev.

Source

Tags: atlanta, boxing, celebrity foreclosure, CelebrityForeclosure, evander holyfield, EvanderHolyfield, foreclosure

Cigar Beef to be Settled in the Ring: All Win with Publicity Stunt

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

A cigar deal gone wrong will end in the ring on June 26, 2009. Tim Carr, Famous Smoke Shop retail store manager, and Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars (which I do enjoy) will pull on the gloves and swing like hell to settle a dispute.

It's all pretty simple. Carr says that Johnson committed to be one of the featured vendors at Famous Cigar Expo in June. According to Carr, the Tatuaje pseudo-celebrity "readily accepted." Later, Johnson called a different manager at Famous Smoke Shop to back out. Carr considered this an insult, particularly when Johnson wouldn't accept his phone calls.

To drive the message home, Carr told Johnson that he wasn't acting like a man.

Eventually, the two agreed to settle their differences, in fact, like men. Both will swing furiously at each other in a boxing match to be held at Famous Smoke Shop headquarters in Easton, PA.

While only one man's hand will be held aloft in victory, both will emerge winners. Though Tatuaje won't be at Famous Cigar Expo in June, he'll instead participate in a major publicity stunt occurring at the same time.

Brilliant, gentlemen. Brilliant.

Tags: boxing, boxing-gloves, boxinggloves, cigar, cigars, easton, easton pennsylvania, eastonpennsylvania, fight, fighting, fights, pennsylvania, publicity stunt, publicity stunts, PublicityStunt, PublicityStunts

Boxer Loses Million-Dollar Jewels In Home Robbery

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather may be dressing a little plainly lately. Last month burglars broke in to his Las Vegas home, and, according to the pugilist, made off with around $7 million in jewelry. The home was empty when a window between the master bedroom and pool area was smashed and the valuables were stolen. The security camera footage has been little help in ascertaining the identity of the four bandits who broke in.

As David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press notes, last year on HBO Mayweather demonstrated that he doesn't believe in credit cards and believes in liquidity, shocking the camera crew by showing off $1 million in cash stored in a duffle bag in his bedroom. Mayweather is notoriously spendy, wearing flashy jewelry, giving lavish tips and gambling big on sporting events but after this he will likely be a lot more careful about where he stores his bling.

Tags: boxing, floyd mayweather, FloydMayweather, jewels, las vegas, LasVegas, theft

Jean Paul Gaultier Satin Boxing Shopper, Handbag of the Day

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags

Carrying the Satin Boxing Shopper bag by Jean Paul Gaultier is like carrying a feminine little boxing glove with you. With its sporty stripes down each side and ruching to make it looking look like a padded glove, it'll give you an extra feeling of "bad-ass," even if it is pink (ahem, "violet"). But looks are where that tough edge ends, as up close you'll notice it's made of very girly satin. And the elastic band at the top is purely for looks -- the bag actually has no closure, magnetic or otherwise. Inside it has both a center zip pocket and a side one, with a mesh lining. $680

Gallery: Jean Paul Gaultier Satin Boxing Shopper