English pugilist Charley Mitchell’s 1888 Silver and Gold Engraved Trophy Belt — bestowed by fans following a three-hour, rain-soaked illegal slugfest with champion John L. Sullivan at the Baron Rothschild’s chateau at Chantilly, France — is expected to sell for $30,000 as part of Heritage Auctions’ Platinum Night Sports Auction, held July 30, 2015 in conjunction with the 2015 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. The 12-pound belt spent much of its life in the private collection of Nat Fleischer, founder of ‘The Ring’ magazine after it was previously sold to raise funds for wounded World War I veterans. Sullivan and Mitchell’s March 10, 1888 fight was actually a rematch between the two. Sullivan, who had soundly defeated Mitchell five years earlier in New York City, agreed to meet the fighter again however, it took a squad of armed French police to break up the fight, which left both men

Read More: Rare boxing trophy: Charley Mitchell’s 1888 trophy belt surfaces at Heritage Auctions