Mixed-martial arts have come a long way from 1976, the year Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki challenged the world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali to a 15-round fight billed as World Martial Arts Championship.

The June 26 fight ended in a draw before the 14,000 spectators, who paid between $17 and $1,000 for seats. Ali was to receive $6.1 million dollars and Inoki up to $4 million.

The story of exactly how Ali came to be in that ring, underneath Antonio Inoki’s spandex-clad ass, is tough to untangle. It’s only 30 years on and the facts are already a mess, recounted by a disparate set of narrators, each as unreliable as the other.

The idea of fighting Inoki supposedly came about in April 1975, when Ali was introduced to Ichiro Yada, president of the Japanese Amateur Wrestling Association, at a reception in the US. Supposedly, Ali bragged to Yada: “Isn’t there any Oriental fighter who will challenge me? I’ll give him one million dollars if he wins.”

The stage-managed remark was worked into headline news in Japan. Inoki accepted the challenge and, eventually, Ali accepted a $6m final offer from Inoki’s backers.

In March ’76 the fight was made. The venue was the Budokan in Tokyo, and the date 26 June.

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”.

[sources : wiki, wsj.com, theguardian.com]