Ali memorabilia to be displayed at MGM Grand

Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002 | 10:13 a.m.

The robe Muhammad Ali wore before fighting Joe Frazier in 1971, the trunks he donned for the "Thrilla in Manila" against Frazier four years later, and 80 more items will be on display during Saturday night's title fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas.

The memorabilia is from the collection of Drew "Bundini" Brown, Ali's late cornerman. The items will be on an appointment-only display Thursday through Sunday at the MGM Grand. The De La Hoya-Vargas super middleweight fight will be at the Mandalay Bay casino. Bidding for the Ali items began last Friday.

The cornerman died in 1991 and kept nearly everything Ali gave him from each of his fights, from his shoes to his gloves. Ali signed most of the items, and Brown kept them over the decades in a California storage locker.

On Monday, the red velvet robe Ali wore before he entered the ring March 8, 1971 in New York to decide the heavyweight champion of the world had a bid of nearly $30,000, auction organizer Darren Julien said in Los Angeles.

"Being Muslim, Ali did not stockpile possessions," Julien said. "Most of these collectibles haven't been seen by the public since they were used."