Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki, billed as The War of the Worlds, was a fight between American professional boxer Muhammad Ali and Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki, held at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo, Japan, on June 26, 1976. 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.Antonio Inoki Home Page: best matches. Asahi-net.or.jp. Retrieved on 2015-05-30.
The fight itself, which was fought under special rules, is seen as a precursor to modern mixed martial arts (MMA). The majority of the fight saw Inoki on his back kicking Ali's legs 107 times uninhibited by the referee (due to a particular rule negotiated shortly before the fight, which allowed him to do so without being disqualified). The result of the fight, a draw, has long been debated by the press and fans. The fight was refereed by Gene LeBell.
Background In April 1975, at a reception held in the United States, Muhammad Ali was introduced to Ichiro Hatta, president of the Japanese Amateur Wrestling Association. 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". This flippant remark made headlines in Japan, and Ali's challenge was accepted by Inoki, whose financial backers offered the boxer $6 million for the fight. The deal was struck in March 1976, and the fight was scheduled for June 26 at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan.Tallent, Aaron. "The Joke That Almost Ended Ali's Career". The Sweet Science. February 20, 2005. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
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. I may even break his arm".Bull, Andy. "The forgotten story of ... Muhammad Ali v Antonio Inoki". The Guardian. November 11, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
In preparation for the fight, Ali trained with a wrestler, The Sheik. Ali also sparred with wrestlers Kenny Jay and Buddy Wolff, defeating both in televised exhibition matches.
The Associated Press prefaced a report by its correspondent John Roderick written on the eve of the fight by describing it as "...what is called by some the world's first Martial Arts Championship — and by others a multi-million-dollar sham".
On the day of the fight Ali made a scene upon his arrival at the airport, bellowing "There will be no Pearl Harbor! Muhammad Ali has returned! There will be no Pearl Harbor!" as he walked past the mass of journalists. Anticipation for the fight was huge; it would be broadcast to 34 countries around the world to an estimated audience of 1.4 billion. Because of time zone differences, the bout was seen on June 25 at over 150 closed circuit TV locations in the US. In New York, pro-wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, Sr. sold tickets to a closed-circuit telecast of the fight at Shea Stadium, and drew a crowd of 32,897. At Showdown at Shea, the Ali and Inoki fight would be the main event on a card that also featured wrestler André the Giant vs. boxer Chuck Wepner.Cohen, Eric. "Antonio Inoki vs Muhammad Ali". About.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012. The Budokan itself was sold out, with the most expensive seats costing (equivalent to about at the time and US$ currently).
Martial arts expert Donn F. Draeger was skeptical of the match, believing it would be a choreographed professional wrestling bout given that in his opinion, any competent wrestler had the advantage over a boxer in a real fight. He shared to Robert W. Smith that he believed himself capable of submitting Ali in the ring by using judo. According to him, fellow high level jūdōka Isao Inokuma and Kisaburo Watanabe also believed they could submit Ali in under one minute.Muhammad Ali vs Antonio Inoki, Journal of Combative Sports
Rules The fight was contested under specially created rules. Due to varying claims over the years, it is difficult to know the reasons behind their implementation. Inoki initially responded to Ali's 'challenge' to having a bare-knuckle match in a letter to Angelo Dundee and promoter Don King in early June, 1975.
On March 25, 1976, Ali and Inoki held a press conference at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. It included a signing ceremony to officially declare a match between the world heavyweight boxing champion and the Japanese wrestling star, the latter also a world champion of the National Wrestling Federation. Both parties agreed to a KO or submission in order to recognize the victor, with Ali wearing boxing gloves and Inoki fighting barehanded. These terms were negotiated and agreed upon by Angelo Dundee, Vince McMahon Sr., and Mike LeBell, Gene's brother and promoter.
It has been alleged that Ali's handlers originally agreed to a worked match, but that Ali never agreed to fix the fight. According to boxing journalist Jim Murphy, the original plan was for Ali to accidentally punch the referee and knock him out. While standing over the referee, looking concerned, Inoki would knock him out with an enzuigiri or a roundhouse kick to the head. The referee would then come around and count Ali out, giving Inoki the win in front of his fellow countrymen, and allowing Ali to save face. However, when Ali found out he had to lose, he refused, turning the fixed fight into a real one.
According to Inoki, Ali and his entourage had signed on expecting the fight to be an exhibition rather than a real contest. It was only when they went to see Inoki train six days before the fight, and saw him use a series of brutal kicks and grapples on sparring partners, that they sensed it would be a legitimate fight. Inoki alleges he was asked by Ali, "OK, so when do we do the rehearsal?", with Inoki replying: "No, no. This isn't an exhibition. It's a real fight!"
In the days leading up to the fight, Ali and Inoki's representatives began to renegotiate the rules. A list of restrictions was imposed on Inoki. He would not be allowed to throw, grapple or tackle Ali and could not land any kicks unless he had one knee on the mat. Ali's camp also demanded that the rules not be made public before the fight. The rule stipulations were made public by New Japan Pro-Wrestling on May 25, 1976, and an amended version reflecting Ali's additional demands on June 23. Draeger noted, "The rules have been so seriously modified that the contest is no longer boxing versus wrestling. Unless this were done there would be no way to choreograph the match and make it look convincing. Ali can grapple or punch the man down; Inoki is not allowed to leg-dive or tackle. That latter restriction is the same as prohibiting Ali from jabbing. What a farce!"
On June 23, 1976, frustrated by repeated rule changes clearly designed to limit what he could do against Ali, Inoki proposed a winner-take-all of personal assets and the entire promotional revenue as proof of how serious he was about the match during the final signing ceremony three days before the battle; Ali accepted and signed the contract. However, on the next day, Ali's people demanded the contract to be voided, explaining that Ali could not singlehandedly agree to any match without consulting his manager and promoter.
Professional wrestler Bret Hart, who started touring Japan in 1980, claimed in his 2008 autobiography that "the black Muslims who were backing Ali made it clear that if Inoki laid a finger on their champ, they would kill him. That's why Inoki lay on his back for fifteen rounds, kicking Ali in the shins so as not to use his hands". This claim was lent credibility by then NJPW referee Mr. Takahashi, who assured it was Ali's entourage and not Ali himself who demanded the restriction.Teruo Takahashi, Ryūketsu no majutsu saikyō no engi subete no puroresu wa shōdearu, Kodansha, 2001 In 2016, the referee Gene LeBell further denied that there were actual limitations on kicking or grappling and said all types of kicking, throwing and grappling were allowed.
At a public weigh-in the day before the match, Ali came in at slightly above 99 kg (218.3 lbs.) and Inoki tipped the scales at around 100.5 kg (221.6 lbs.)
Fight summary Entrances Inoki made his entrance first, wearing his signature purple robe and being accompanied by former professional and Olympic amateur wrestler Karl Gotch, Olympic judo medalist Seiji Sakaguchi, wrestling trainer Kotetsu Yamamoto, and star wrestler (and former boxer) Kantaro Hoshino. Ali was the second entrance, sporting a red and white robe and being followed by his manager Herbert Muhammad, his trainers Angelo Dundee and Wali Muhammad, his cornerman Drew Bundini Brown, and Dr. Ferdie Pacheco. For this occasion, his entourage had been reinforced with professional wrestler Freddie Blassie, taekwondo master Jhoon Goo Rhee (considered the "Father of American Taekwondo"), and promoter Butch Lewis. He donned specially made four-ounce Everlast gloves, unusually smaller than those typically used in heavyweight boxing matches, loaded with tape and gauze.
Rounds 1–5 As soon as the opening bell rang, Inoki ran the distance between Ali and himself and slid at the legs of Ali, who sidestepped the attack. Inoki stayed on the ground and started kicking and sweeping for Ali's legs. After scoring a hard kick to the right leg, Inoki stood up momentarily, but returned to his field and continued throwing kicks, landing a side kick which forced Ali's corner to instruct him to back away from Inoki. Ali taunted Inoki to stand up, but the wrestler answered by continuing his kicking strategy, connecting with a few of them until the end of the round.
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. The boxer, who taunted the wrestler unceasingly, maneuvered to avoid several of the kicks, but Inoki crab crawled across the mat towards him and kept connecting kicks to the legs. By the third round, a wound had appeared on Ali's left knee, and the crowd had started to boo at the lack of solid action. After harshly arguing with his corner, Ali began walking around the ring, out of reach of Inoki's kicks, taunting him by shouting "Coward Inoki! Inoki no fight!" and "One punch! I want one punch!"
In the fourth round, Inoki missed a jumping side kick but, still on his back, crawled towards Ali, trapping him in a corner. While LeBell restarted action in the center of the ring, Ali mockingly pushed the referee with his chest, earning an admonition. Inoki returned to his strategy, prompting Ali to scream "I thought Inoki could wrestle!" and "Inoki girl!" multiple times. The Japanese eventually trapped him again in a corner and started kicking wildly at his thighs, prompting Ali to leap up on to the ropes and tuck his legs underneath him in an attempt to avoid the strikes. A new restart by LeBell came near of the end of the round.