Product description
Montblanc Great Characters Muhammad Ali
Montblanc celebrates the great athlete and philanthropist with a collection of limited edition pens that expresses his journey from young boxing champion to inspirational role model.
With the Great Characters product line for collectors, Montblanc honors people who made a mark with their achievements and continue to have a significant impact on humanity today. Few athletes are as celebrated and revered as three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose legendary athletic achievements and commitment to civil rights made him one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. The Montblanc Great Characters Muhammad AliTM Collection is dedicated to a man who not only challenged his opponents in the boxing ring, but used his intellect and charisma to tirelessly speak out loudly for civil rights, sacrificing much of his career to stand up for what he believed in.
Muhammad Ali, who was born Cassius Clay (1942-2016) in Louisville, Kentucky, began boxing at the age of twelve after a policeman gave him the following advice following the theft of his bicycle: If you're looking for retribution, learn to fight first. At 18, he boxed his way into the worldwide spotlight at the 1960 Summer Games in Rome when he competed as an amateur in the light heavyweight class and won the gold medal. Just four years later, he impressed the world of sport when he became world heavyweight boxing champion - the same year he officially adopted the name Muhammad Ali.
Soon the fight for civil rights and peace became his greatest passion. When he refused military service in 1967, his sports license was revoked and he was stripped of his world title. After three and a half years he was allowed back into the ring and he won his second and third world titles. To this day, Muhammad Ali is the only three-time world heavyweight boxing champion.
The Montblanc Great Characters Muhammad Ali Edition has design elemens highlighting different aspects of his extraordinary life and continuing legacy. The structure of the boxing bandage that the champion used to protect his hands is a reference to the art of boxing that he perfected. His incomparable style, which combined lightness with speed, was often described with the words "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". In the writing instrument, these elements are reflected in the tapered cone that represents the bee and the butterfly that adorns the cap. The clip of the pen has a belt that resembles those of the victorious champions.
As a symbol of Muhammad Ali's successes as a boxing champion, four lines are engraved in the cone - a reference to the four ropes that delimit the boxing ring. The shape of the pen's cap resembles a punching bag. The bandages that boxers use to protect their hands under their boxing gloves are echoed in the texture of the matte black precious resin that seems to wrap around the container.
His legendary victory at the 1960 Summer Games is immortalized in the gold-plated cone engraved "ROMA MCMLX". Only four years later, against all predictions, he dethroned the world champion Sonny Liston. The words "I shook up the world", which he proudly uttered after his spectacular fight, are engraved on the cap. The Montblanc emblem made of white precious resin on the cap's head features the number "1" - in honor of the first world championship title in his boxing career. Cassius Clay's victory pose is engraved next to the inscription "TKO-W 7 (15)" (technical knockout in the seventh of 15 rounds) on the gold-plated cap ring, while the cone is engraved "MIAMI 1964".
The champion belt worn by Muhammad Ali served as inspiration for the skeletonized clip with the inscription "ALI". The laurel wreath underneath represents the triumphant victories of the great boxer. Since all of his victories, whether athletic or social, were based on the reputation he established with his boxing gloves, this crucial piece of a boxer's equipment is artfully engraved on the handcrafted solid 585 gold nib.
