Of all the episodes in Muhammad Ali’s incredible career, it was the one he probably most wanted the world to forget.
In one corner, the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world, the Greatest Of All Time. In the other, Antonio Inoki, a gigantic 18-stone Japanese wrestler, national champion and one of his country’s most popular stars. Their bizarre encounter on June 26, 1976 at Tokyo’s famous Nippon Budokan areas was billed ‘the war of the worlds’, drew more than 70,000 fans and was watched by an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide.
But while the curious contest between a superstar wrestler and a legendary boxer is believed to have paved the way for today’s hugely popular mixed martial arts (MMA), at the time fans of both sports were left distinctly unimpressed. In fact, the much-hyped fight went down as the most disappointing duel in both boxing and wrestling history.
