On September 29th, 1977, Muhammad Ali successfully defended his heavyweight titles for the final time, defeating Earnie Shavers in a gutsy 15-round unanimous decision that displayed Ali’s steel as both a boxer and a man. At the age of 35, Ali took on Shavers, one of the hardest punchers in boxing, to defend his WBC, WBA, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles. The fight took place at Madison Square Garden, under the brightest lights in boxing. Shavers tagged Ali with a thunderous right hand in the second round, severely hurting Ali. However, Ali showcased his experience and guile by exaggerating the damage Shavers caused. This befuddled Shavers, who decided not to go for the emphatic knockout with Ali wounded. Given time to recover, Ali kept the fight alive for all 15 rounds, using his exceptional stamina and chin to survive against the lead-fisted Shavers. In the final round, Ali dominated, almost knocking down Shavers with mere seconds to go in the title fight. In one of his greatest displays of boxing skill, Ali was awarded the unanimous decision victory over a fearsome opponent.

     These white, size 13 shoes were worn by Ali during the Shavers fight. The shoes are white leather, with the original white laces and tan bottoms. The soles of the shoes are scored. The boots rise above the ankle, terminating halfway up Ali’s calves. “MITRE” is printed vertically in red on the outside of the right shoe. “M” is printed in red on the left shoe above a horizontal “Mitre”. There are small scuffs present on the body of the shoes. “ALI” is written in black marker on the inside of these shoes in the hand of Wali Muhammad, Ali’s longtime trainer. These fight-worn shoes come with a LOAs from noted boxing expert Craig Hamilton and WBC (MP46966).

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