The trunks worn by Muhammad Ali in his epic 'Thrilla in Manila' victory over Joe Frazier are expected to fetch more than $6m (£4.8m) at auction next week.

Ali's iconic white satin shorts went up for sale with renowned auction house Sotheby's on Thursday - and the bidding has already reached $3.8m.

The trunks, signed by Ali, were sold for $150,000 in 2012 but are likely to fetch 40 times that sum now.

The auction runs at Sotheby's New York branch until Friday 12 April.

The 'Thrilla in Manila', which took place in October 1975 in the capital of the Philippines, is one of the seminal bouts in boxing history.

 

• Read more about the 'Thrilla in Manila', external

 

Frazier, nicknamed 'Smokin' Joe', had won the first meeting between the pair four years earlier, becoming the first man to defeat Ali when he successfully defended his world heavyweight title via unanimous decision in New York.

Ali won a controversial non-title rematch in 1974, paving the way for a rubber fight the following year, by which time he had regained the world crown by beating George Foreman in another iconic bout, the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

And the third meeting also went the way of Ali after 14 gruelling rounds when Frazier was retired by his corner team.

 

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