Muhammad Ali was one of the legendary boxers to have ever stepped foot in the ring. He had an illustrious career in boxing and inspired many other young boxers. However, Ali once had an exhibition bout against wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, which was held in Japan in the year 1976.

The match was one of the first MMA matches ever fought. Subsequently, this match almost cost ‘The Louiseville Lip’ his leg in the iconic ‘Boxing vs Professional Wrestling’, ‘East vs West’ match.

Muhammad Ali vs Antonio Inoki, an exhibition bout

They set the match between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki for June 26, 1976. It was in the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo, Japan. The match was an MMA match in which Ali used his boxing skills and Inoki used his wrestling and MMA skills.

However, Inoki knew one of Ali’s greatest strengths was his quickness, and so the Japanese wrestling legend started kicking his legs. As you can see in the above video as the match started, Inoki was persistent in using kicks right from the start of the match.

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The wrestler spent the maximum match on his back, scooting around the ring and trying to kick Ali’s legs. After the match, which went to 15 rounds, both the men were exhausted. Inoki collapsed backstage after being on his back trying to kick ‘The Greatest’ the entire match.

However, Muhammad Ali’s case was much more serious. He had developed two blood clots in his leg and they both became infected. As a result, the doctors warned Ali that they may have to amputate his leg. Thankfully, The Louiseville Lip recovered after spending weeks in the hospital.

Ali had thought this would be a ‘scripted bout’ like other pro-wrestling matches. However, it wasn’t and upon finding out Inoki’s intentions, Ali’s team banned Inoki from throwing kicks and strikes. Moreover, they threatened to leave the match.

Ali’s legs were swollen after the vicious kicks from the late Antonio Inoki. The NJPW star swept around the ring, kicking Ali from a low range to stop his mobility. Legend says in this bout which was declared a draw, Inoki kicked Ali’s legs over 100 times throughout the 15 rounds!

Ali and Inoki became friends after the match

Like true professionals, Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki kept their professional rivalry in the ring. Their match became a benchmark for what we call MMA today.

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Ali said in one of the interviews in 2009, Ali said that both were tough for each other. However, after the match, they became friends because of their mutual respect.

Inoki later adopted some of The Greatest’s catchphrases to use for his wrestling gimmick. In 1976, they showed the world that boxing and wrestling are not easy sports.

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What do you think about their vicious match?