Headgear Fit for a Champion: What Muhammad Ali Left Behind

"He dipped. He swooped. He punched. To remember Muhammad Ali is to pay tribute to a man who, at the height of his boundary-breaking career, was a study in perpetual motion. Luckily for history, the boxer left behind plenty of immobile objects when he died—and one of them, an Everlast head protector from 1964, is in the collection of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opening this fall.

Ali wore the headgear while practicing for his first fight with Sonny Liston. It accompanied him during long hours of training at Miami’s iconic 5th Street Gym, also known as “the university of boxing.” There, Cassius Clay, who famously introduced himself to trainer Angelo Dundee as the future heavyweight champion of the world, sparred, ducked and did fancy footwork while honing himself into a formidable boxing force..."
Muhammand Ali