In 1976, Muhammad Ali travelled to Japan for a massive crossover fight against professional wrestling legend Antonio Inoki.
After some tough negotiations on prize money and rules, Muhammad Ali bagged a $6 million payday to fight Antonio Inoki in a match unlike any other.
The boxer vs. wrestler bout had unique rules that turned the whole thing into a farce. With Inoki unable to grapple with Ali, he spent the fight lying on the ground, kicking at the boxer’s legs.
Ali nearly had to have his legs amputated after the fight, but one particular moment in the fight almost changed history forever.
The referee stopped Antonio Inoki from taking down Muhammad Ali during their crossover bout
There was a moment in the fight between Ali and Inoki where the referee stopped what would have been a guaranteed victory for the professional wrestler.
Inoki wasn’t allowed to grapple when taking on the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and his constant leg kicks did nothing to excite the crowd.
While he took him down after grabbing his ankle midway through the fight, the referee stopped him from ending Ali during a key part of the bout.
In the middle of the sixth round, Ali caught one of Inoki’s kicks with his gloves, which proved to be a huge mistake.
Ali used this chance to get close to the boxing legend, grabbing his ankles and dragging him to the ground with him, in his first real attempt to finish the fight.
Inoki applied a leg lock to the boxer while laying into him with a fist to the face, but the referee soon jumped in to break the two apart after Ali grabbed the ropes.
That was the pivotal moment in the fight that threatened to make the fight entertaining, but the usual laying down and kicking continued for each of the remaining rounds before a draw was declared after fifteen agonising rounds.
Conor McGregor claims that it could have changed ‘the face of combat sports’
It was against the rules for Inoki to take down Ali during their fight, but the referee stopping him from locking in a hold could have changed combat sports forever.
The bout is said to be the precursor to modern MMA, and it is a fight that Conor McGregor has taken a great interest in, especially when he crossed over to boxing in 2017.
Before his own boxer vs fighter bout against Floyd Mayweather, McGregor explained how the combat world could have changed forever if Inoki had been allowed to grapple Ali during that one key moment.
“It’s a different time. The fight was very interesting. I believe that Ali didn’t know what he was getting in for.” McGregor said.
“It was a crazy fight. Inoki sat down, pulled guard, and crawled across the floor, kicking Ali in the legs. Ali was like back, trying to get him up, but there was no referee to say get up – you’ve got to deal with these problems yourself.
“Punching downwards is a skill that you must master. If you can’t keep your balance and throw, people stumble over. That happened at a brief moment, Ali tried to reach down and he ended up getting swept and Inoki ended up on top.
“The referee separated it straight away. If that moment in time had been let go for five more seconds, ten more seconds, Inoki would have wrapped around his neck, his arm, or a limb, and the whole face of the combat world would have changed.
“But the referee separated straight away, and it carried on the kicking on the floor contest, and it kind of just got weird after that.”
Sadly, McGregor’s crossover fight against Mayweather didn’t end as well as Ali vs Inoki, as he was knocked out by the undefeated champion in the tenth round.