Ali inoki

By Bruce Haring. Antonio Inoki, ali inoki, whose most ali inoki moment on the world stage was an unorthodox exhibition match against boxing champion Muhammad Ali that aimed to settle which sport could beat the other, died Friday in Japan.

Warning: this piece is 4, words long. If you don't think you can get away with pretending to work while you read for that long, you might want to print it out and read it on the train home later. Picture Muhammad Ali. Standing snarling over Sonny Liston? Shadow boxing on the bottom of a swimming pool?

Ali inoki

Muhammad Ali vs. At the time, Ali had come off a knockout victory over Richard Dunn in May and was the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion. Inoki, who had been taught catch wrestling by wrestler Karl Gotch , was staging exhibition fights against champions of various martial arts , in an attempt to show that pro wrestling was the dominant fighting discipline. The fight itself, which was fought under special rules , is seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts MMA. The result of the fight, a draw, has long been debated by the press and fans. The fight was refereed by Gene LeBell. Ali characteristically bragged to Hatta: "Isn't there any Oriental fighter who will challenge me? I'll give him one million dollars if he wins". The deal was struck in March , and the fight was scheduled for June 26 at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan. Several press conferences were held to promote the fight. When the two men first met, Ali announced he would nickname Inoki "The Pelican", because of his prominent chin. Inoki replied, via an interpreter: "When your fist connects with my chin, take care that your fist is not damaged". He then presented Ali with a crutch , to use after he had been thrown from the ring. Inoki said afterwards: "I don't know how seriously Muhammad Ali is taking the fight, but if he doesn't take it seriously, he could suffer damage. I'm going in there fighting.

In reality, the entire thing was utterly humiliating for everyone involved.

It was quite a vivid description of his boxing style as well: at his best, Ali would combine his stinging jabs and long right hands with his superb footwork to create a style that had no parallels up to that day and remains unique even today. But right in the middle of one of his finest years in the boxing ring he made the unwise decision of attempting something completely unusual in exchange for a huge purse at that time. MMA bouts, with very murky rules. Ali left attempts to evade kicks from wrestler Antonio Inoki. Photo by AP. With a worldwide audience estimated in 1. As the bell sounded, Inoki charged through the ring to attack Ali but then dropped on his back onto the canvas and proceeded to start kicking Ali on his legs, especially his left leg, in one of the weirdest scenes in combat sports history.

Muhammad Ali vs. At the time, Ali had come off a knockout victory over Richard Dunn in May and was the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion. Inoki, who had been taught catch wrestling by wrestler Karl Gotch , was staging exhibition fights against champions of various martial arts , in an attempt to show that pro wrestling was the dominant fighting discipline. The fight itself, which was fought under special rules , is seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts MMA. The result of the fight, a draw, has long been debated by the press and fans. The fight was refereed by Gene LeBell.

Ali inoki

Ali, who died in at the age of 74 , is third inductee of this year's class, joining Paul Heyman and Bull Nakano. Even with all of his accolades in and out of the boxing ring, Ali also made notable impact in the professional wrestling world. In the very first WrestleMania in , Ali served as the special guest referee for the main event tag team match between Hulk Hogan and Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. By the time of the event, Ali had already retired as an accomplished boxer. As the match was erupting in chaos, Ali delivered an iconic moment when he punched Piper with his signature right hand. Hogan and Mr.

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What's karate from a distance man? Ali characteristically bragged to Hatta: "Isn't there any Oriental fighter who will challenge me? Foster Ali vs. Inoki shows irritation by these repeated halts by LeBell. Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki - who died last week aged 79 - took on boxing legend Muhammad Ali in a bizarre hybrid fight in , which had 1. In the ring, we were tough opponents. Inoki alleges that he was asked the following by Ali at the time , "OK, so when do we do the rehearsal? The second and third rounds unfolded the same way, with Inoki taking refuge from possible punches on the mat and kicking the legs of an infuriated Ali. Facebook Twitter. Among the protests, LeBell asked Ali if he could continue, and it seemed the boxer was going to exit the ring, but the referee convinced him to return. Inoki stayed on the ground and started kicking and sweeping for Ali's legs. The boxer maneuvered to avoid several of the kicks, but Inoki crab crawled across the mat towards him and kept connecting kicks to the legs. Warner Clay vs. Before the two could square up, Inoki threw another lunging kick, missed again, and landed flat on his back. Related Stories.

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Inoki started using Ali's theme music, "The Greatest" taken from Ali's biographical film , as his own signature tune, and borrowed the catchphrase "bom-ba-ye" from Ali's fans at the Rumble in the Jungle. If you don't think you can get away with pretending to work while you read for that long, you might want to print it out and read it on the train home later Picture Muhammad Ali. Diego M. As for Inoki, the fight made him one of the most famous men in Japan. It's a real fight! Muhammad Ali. Mathis Ali vs. It was just the right environment for a bit of nationalistic jingoism. More info. Inoki sat on Ali and turned towards his legs, pursuing a leglock , but Ali managed to swing one of his feet over the ring rope, which called for a standing restart. All Rights Reserved. Antonio Inoki, whose most famous moment on the world stage was an unorthodox exhibition match against boxing champion Muhammad Ali that aimed to settle which sport could beat the other, died Friday in Japan. So, I feel a little less lonely now that Antonio has retired. When the wrestler fought his last bout in the boxing legend flew out from the US to watch, climbing into the ring at the end to give him a hug.