Wrestler Who Fought Muhammad Ali Was 79 – Deadline

Antonio Inoki, whose most well-known second on the world stage was an unorthodox exhibition match towards boxing champion Muhammad Ali that aimed to settle which sport may beat the opposite, died Friday in Japan. He was 79 and no reason for loss of life was launched.

Inoki was thought-about a fight sports activities trailblazer, but in addition was a profitable entrepreneur and politician in his native Japan, the place he was one of many nation’s most well-known folks.

In wrestling-mad Japan, Inoki was thought-about its most vital star, promoting out numerous arenas and stadiums from the Seventies and on. He was additionally the primary Japanese wrestler to win the WWF championship and was inducted into the WWE Corridor of Fame in 2010.

However all that was a prelude to the Ali exhibition on June 26, 1976, when Inoki took on the champion in a bout that was a precursor to at the moment’s blended martial arts matches.

Along with the sold-out crowd of greater than 14,000 on the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, the exhibition combat aired on closed-circuit the world over, together with greater than 32,000 folks at Shea Stadium in New York.

Inoki spent a lot of the 15-round contest on his again, kicking at Ali’s legs and touchdown these kicks greater than 100 instances. Ali took much more injury within the bout than Inoki did, and sustained severe accidents. Ali’s left leg was so badly swollen and bleeding that it led to an an infection, and later had two blood clots that led to a consideration of amputation. The injury restricted his mobililty for the remainder of his profession. .

Years later, blended martial arts fighter Colin McGregor recalled the match. “Ali tried to succeed in down and punch and he ended up getting swept,” McGregor mentioned at a media scrum earlier than his match with boxer Floyd Mayweather. “Inoki ended up on prime and the referee separated it right away. If that second in time was to let go for 5 extra seconds, 10 extra seconds, Inoki would have wrapped round his neck or his arm or a limb and the entire face of the fight world would have modified proper there after which.”

Inoki based New Japan Professional-Wrestling in 1972, and was the promotion’s greatest star for greater than a decade, having enormous matches with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Dory Funk Jr., Large Van Vader and Bruiser Brody.

Apart from sports activities, Inoki began his personal political celebration, the Sports activities and Peace Celebration, and was elected into the Japanese Home of Councillors in 1989. Inoki flew to Iraq in 1996 on a one-man diplomatic mission and negotiated with Saddam Hussein the discharge of 36 Japanese hostages.

He was additionally an elected politician within the Japanese authorities from 2013 to 2019.

No data on survivors was instantly obtainable.