A rare letter written by boxing great Muhammad Ali demanding exemption from the Vietnam War draft has emerged for sale for £35,000. Ali was the reigning heavyweight champion of the world when in 1966 was called up to serve in the US army as they waged war against Vietnam. But the 24-year-old prize fighter, who had converted to Islam two years previously, repeatedly refused to enlist on the grounds that his religious beliefs forbade any killing. Heavyweight pricetag: A letter written by boxing legend Muhammad Ali is set to sell for £35,000 at auction It was a stance that would see the young champion arrested, tried and sentenced to five years in jail in 1967.
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Ali was world heavyweight champion when he was enlisted in 1966
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Boxing legend had converted to Islam two years earlier
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He told army bosses he was a 'minister of religion' so could not fight war
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Refusal to serve cost him $10,000 and a five-year jail sentence in 1967
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Decision saw him stripped of title and banned from boxing
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Conviction unanimously overturned by US Supreme Court in 1971
Historic: Experts say the six-page letter is the 'most significant @placeholder document in existence'