“IT’S not that we’re convinced. We know.”

Those were the words of a former Somerset leather worker on the validity of a boxing glove claimed to be the one used by Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) in his controversial fight against Henry Cooper in 1963.

The glove, said to have been given to the partner of former boxing glove maker Baily’s, in Glastonbury, is up for sale in an online auction.

However, it comes after another glove – also reported to be that worn by Ali in the fight – was sold at Christie’s in 2001 for more than £37,000.

The glove has become infamous in boxing history as it featured a split, which delayed the start of the fifth round of the fight – at Wembley Stadium in June, 1963 – giving Ali time to recover after being knocked down by Cooper.

The Somerset glove has been researched by Chard auctioneer Stuart Bull, who believes it is the real deal.

The glove believed to have been worn by Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) in the match against Henry Cooper

Now, he has been supported by Paul Gillett, who was a trainee salesperson for Yeovil firm Pittards, which provided the leather.

And Mr Gillett said, having inspected the item, he is certain the Somerset glove is the real thing – because no one else could have produced leather of that colour at the time.

“Only we at that time had access to that dye stuff, because ICI offered us access to it,” he explained. “We were the largest manufacturer of leather in the world an had the highest level of technology.

“No one else in the country or the world had access to the dye stuff at that time.

“You can lift the cuff to see underneath and it is as bright as the day we dyed it. The laces are still intact.

“We know full well that was the leather used for that fight. It’s not that we’re convinced, we know.

“Nobody else could have made that leather at that time.”

Baily’s Tannery in Glastonbury, now being redeveloped, produced boxing gloves for the British Boxing Board of Control. Picture: Paul Manning/Beckery Island Regengeration Trust

He added: “It (the leather used on the glove) would have just been a standard production. That was what our business was.”

After the fight, Mr Gillett said, the Britsh Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) retrieved it and sent it back to Somerset for testing – which was carried out in Glastonbury and at Pittards.

The glove was originally made at Baily’s tannery in Glastonbury by cutter Percy Green, trimmer June Griffin and machinist Lilian Whitcombe, using leather from Pittards.

“There was no defect in the stitching, it was nothing to do with the stitching,” Mr Gillett said.

He said Ali’s cornerman for the fight – Angelo Dundee – later admitted making the damage to the glove worse in a bid to delay the start of the fifth round.

READ MORE: Could a Somerset tannery hold the key to the mystery of Muhammad Ali’s fight against Henry Cooper?

“I can remember jumping up when I heard Cooper had knocked him down,” Mr Gillett went on. “But Dundee was known for doing these sorts of things.

“There are rumours he loosened the ropes for the Rumble in the Jungle fight against George Foreman, that sort of thing.

“He did later admit to making the damage worse.”

But regardless of what happened – and why – Mr Gillett paid tribute to the quality of leather from Pittards and gloves from Baily’s.

And he is certain the Somerset glove is, like Ali, the greatest.