Jake Paul may have changed the world of boxing due to his unorthodox matchups, but he is not the first person to do it.
Muhammad Ali is considered by many to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, as well as one of sport’s best-ever athletes.
Facing the likes of George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Larry Holmes, Ali helped to change the sport of boxing forever in the 60s and 70s.
However, he may have also helped to start a trend which is very apparent in the 21st century.
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Muhammad Ali faced a Japanese wrestler in 1976
In June of 1976, Ali was a two-time world heavyweight champion, fresh off of a fifth round TKO over Richard Dunn.
Despite being the defending champion at the time, Ali’s next fight after Dunn would not be for his WBC World Heavyweight belt.
Instead, Ali faced Antonio Inoki, a Japanese wrestler. The bout materialised after Ali asked the president of the Japanese amateur wrestling association if he could box one of their wrestlers.
Inoki accepted the challenge, and was one of Japan’s biggest sporting names at the time of the fight. Ali was offered $6 million to take the fight.
The two would meet in the Budokan Arena in Tokyo on June 26th, 1976, in front of 14,500 fans.
Although the fight was originally supposed to be a rehearsed exhibition, it ended up becoming a real mixed-rules fight.
The rules meant that Inoki was not able to use any form of grappling, or throw standing kicks.
Fans were disappointed by Muhammad Ali vs Antonio Inoki
Although there was a great deal of excitement for the fight between Ali and Inoki in the lead-up to the fight, the bout did not deliver.
Inoki did abide by the agreed rules, however, a loophole allowed him to kick while he was sitting on the floor.
The loophole would mean that Inoki would spend much of the fight lying on his back, kicking up at Ali.
Despite Ali also throwing some kicks back of his own, the mixed-rules bout was largely uneventful in terms of damaging moments.
Round 6 of 15 would see Inoki grab Ali’s foot in a coming together and drag him to the canvas. As well as this, Inoki was able to send Ali to the canvas through trips and kicks on two occasions.
Ali’s leg would experience significant damage throughout the fight, and showed much swelling by the final bell.
The fight was ultimately declared a draw, with both fighters considered to have dealt equal damage.
The unusual bout displayed some similar displays to modern-day MMA. However, the bout took place over 17 years before the first UFC event.
Crossover boxing matches have now become a more common occurrence than in Ali’s time. Paul has faced MMA stars such as Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva, as well as other influencers and basketball player Nate Robinson.
Paul’s crossover boxing journey also almost led him to a bout with one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time, Canelo Alvarez. However, the bout would fall through.