Everlast to Release Muhammad Ali Collection

Everlast, the boxing equipment company inextricably linked with the sport itself, is preparing to celebrate their 100th anniversary. The company was founded in 1910 and has been at the forefront of the boxing world since.

To celebrate the pending centennial, Everlast is set to release their new Muhammad Ali Collection, a special set of equipment bearing the words, feel and vintage styling of the Greatest of All Time. The collection stems from a licensing agreement with Muhammad Ali Enterprise LLC. It was a natural fit for Muhammad Ali as well, who will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Olympic gold medal performance from Rome in 1960.

The Everlast Muhammad Ali Collection will contain many different pieces of boxing equipment. There will be several kinds of boxing gloves, hand wraps, headgear, punching mitts, a heavy bag, a leather medicine ball and other assorted items bearing to different extents the aura and likeness of Ali.

For example, as you unravel the hand wraps, you'll find one of Ali's famous quotes, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Meanwhile the medicine ball, made from leather and appearing stitched together as if it was plucked from a boxing gym at the turn of the last century, has the quote, "It's not bragging if you can back it up." The headgear says, "If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize," and the heavy bag, which has an illustration of Ali's famous mouth agape, eyes wide open, "I shocked the world" look has the "I am the greatest" quote.

The general look, style and colors of the gear bring to mind Muhammad Ali's early days. A faded white and a burgundy red make up the color schemes for the gloves, hand wraps, medicine ball and other accessories. An imprint of Ali's signature also adorns every piece of equipment in the Everlast Muhammad Ali Collection.

Everlast CEO Neil Morton says that "Muhammad Ali... is the embodiment of everything that Everlast stands for. It remains a tremendous source of pride within our company that Ali wore Everlast during the proudest moments of his career".

The collection brings to mind those classic moments, when boxing was at the center of the world's largest stage. As the world and particularly its younger generations sway more to the mixed martial arts end of the fighting spectrum, the Muhammad Ali Collection from Everlast serves as a proud reminder of the glory days of the sport, and what one fighter can achieve and come to stand for as a man, affecting those far removed from the sport itself.

The Everlast Muhammad Ali Collection will be released in the fall of 2009. The official websites for the companies can be visited at www.everlast.com and www.ali.com.