Luciano Gonzalez
07/11/2020 - 8:01
- Clarín.com
- sports
"The Simpsons predicted it." For fans of the animated series, that sentence applies to various events that have occurred in recent decades: the coronavirus pandemic, the attack on the Twin Towers, the arrival to the United States presidency of Donald Trump, the injury of Neymar in the Brazil World Cup 2014 and ... the list goes on. Without the power attributed to the dysfunctional Springfield family, Muhammad Ali was also ahead of time and starred in an event that was thought to be revolutionary four decades later: getting into a ring in Tokyo for 15 ridiculous rounds in front of an expert. in martial arts .
In August 2017, Floyd Mayweather paused his lavish retirement to face Irish boxer Conor McGregor, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts world champion, in a boxing match. The triumph of the American left little flavor, but it was presented as a novel fact by the crossing between athletes from different specialties. However, in 1976 Ali had also entered this field, although with greater complexity: he had not fought in his discipline, but had crossed the border of boxing into a world as unknown as it was extravagant. The result was one of the least brilliant moments of the Louisville star's career.
Ali was passing his second reign among the heavyweights, which had begun with his victory against George Foreman on October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa (Zaire,) and who already had seven defenses, including the indelible victory in the third duel with Joe Frazier in Manila. On 24 May 1976, the champion dispatched Richard Dunn of England in the fifth round , after knocking him down five times, at the Olympiahalle in Munich. His next stop was Tokyo, but not to expose his World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council belts, but to star in a strange duel that had begun to take shape a year earlier.
"Isn't there an oriental fighter who challenges me? I would give a million dollars to the one who won me, ”Ali had told Ichiro Yada, president of the Japanese Association of Amateur Wrestling, during a reception in the United States in April 1975. The challenge was floating in the air and whoever picked up the glove was an almost unknown man on American soil, but who was a celebrity in his land: Antonio Inoki .
Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki, during the weigh-in ceremony at the Japan Foreign Correspondents Club.
Inoki, whose real name was Kanji, had learned karate in elementary school, although his most important sports experiences had been linked to basketball and athletics, especially since his move to Brazil with his mother and 10 siblings. , since his father had died when he was five years old. But his life took a turn when he met Mitsuhiro Momota, Rikidozan , a wrestling legend in Japan (despite being born in Korea). So he decided to venture into that universe.
He first fought in the United States and in 1966 returned to his country, where he became a hero , first under the umbrella of the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) and since 1972, after being expelled from the JWA for trying to take control of the entity. , with its own organization, the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). By then, he was already calling himself Antonio Inoki, as a tribute to the Italian-Argentine wrestler Antonino Rocca, who shone in the 1950s and 1960s on the professional wrestling circuit in the United States and in the early 1970s had fought in Japan.
For Inoki, the confrontation with athletes from other disciplines was not new: on February 6, 1976, he had defeated the Dutchman Willem Ruska, double Olympic judo champion in Münich 1972. But any previous experience was minuscule when compared to the chance to face the most important boxer on the planet. A $ 6 million offer to Ali lubricated the deal, which was sealed in March 1976.
Regarding the decision to accept the proposal, the versions are contradictory. Promoter Bob Arum blamed Herbert Muhammad, manager of the heavyweight champion. “He told me that these Japanese had offered him a lot of money to fight Inoki. I thought the thing was a fraud, "he alleged. Instead, Ferdie Pacheco, the boxer's doctor, pointed out to Arum: “It was a scam designed by him, who believed that everything was going to be orchestrated, that it would be a joke. But when we got there, we found that no one was laughing. "
The previous debate had not only revolved around the tickets, but also about the rules under which the contest would take place. Several weeks before the fight, a set of guidelines had been agreed that formed a normative spawn. Ali would wear four ounce gloves and could break free of his opponent's mooring just by touching the ropes. Inoki would fight with bare fists. Kneeing or hitting below the belt would not be allowed and if a contestant was thrown out of the ring, he would have 20 seconds to return.
However, when the American's team arrived in Tokyo, the meetings began at the Keio Plaza Hotel with the representatives of the premises to renegotiate what had been agreed. In those conclaves it was decided that Inoki would not be able to knock down or tackle his opponent or kick, unless he had one knee in contact with the canvas, which clearly limited his possibilities. The statutory Frankenstein, which was not even released to the public, was almost incomprehensible.
Parallel to this, the rumors about a quasicircense function, closer to "Titans in the Ring" than to a sporting contest, were increasing . According to journalist Jim Murphy, it had been agreed that Ali would simulate an accidental blow to the referee, try to assist him and then he would be shot down by Inoki with a kick to the head, which would determine his defeat. But the American allegedly refused to accept the plan. Those close to the Japanese, on the other hand, suggested that the boxer and his team had signed thinking that it would be an exhibition, but that they had made it clear that this would not be the case.
The previous conference, held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, did not vary much from what Ali used to lead: shouts, provocations (he called his rival "pelican" for the size and shape of his chin), self-praise and Promises of victory spiced up the gathering. Inoki was not far behind: he explained to his opponent that his name meant "ant" in Japanese and that he intended to crush him underfoot . He also gave him a crutch for recovery after his certain defeat.
Muhammad Ali yells at Antonio Inoki during the press conference that was held at the Japan Foreign Correspondents Club before the match.
On June 26, 1976, the expectation was enormous. For several days before, the 14,500 seats had been sold out (the most expensive were 300,000 yen -1,000 dollars-), which had been put up for sale to have a secured place in the Nippon Budōkan , a stadium that had been built for the Olympic Games in 1964 in Chiyoda, the heart of Tokyo, and in which Ali had defeated Mac Foster in 1972 in an untitled match at stake. In addition, the evening would be broadcast in 37 countries.
In the United States, the combat was emitted by closed circuit in 150 stadiums, cinemas and theaters. 32,897 spectators gathered at Shea Stadium in New York, who paid $ 10 and also witnessed an event organized by the World Wrestling Federation (WWWF), whose stellar matchup faced boxer Chuck Wepner (the previous year he had lost to Ali) with the French fighter André the Giant . Other billboards like these were developed in different parts of the country and were presented as a kind of Olympic Martial Arts Games.
Such an expectation dissipated in just a few seconds. As soon as the bell that marked the beginning of the fight rang, Inoki ran across the ring and launched a failed attack with a kick with his right leg. He ended up on the mat, but quickly got up and tried again. Again it failed. Then he changed tactics: he lay down and from that position began kicking like a rearing horse.
As Ali walked around him, gestured at him, insulted him and urged him to regain his vertical position, the Japanese man crawled and tried to kick his opponent. The American tried to respond with his feet, but every time he got closer, Inoki shook his legs to push him away. Since no one was very clear about the combat guidelines, it was not easy to allege that any maneuver was out of the norms, beyond the fact that Ali repeatedly claimed the referee (the former judoka, ex-wrestler and actor Gene LeBell) for the actions of his rival who supposedly they were anti-regulatory.
Muhammad Ali tries to avoid a kick by Antonio Inoki.
The disbelief and annoyance of the public increased as the rounds ran and the ridiculous maneuvers multiplied . In the fourth round, Inoki, still lying down, locked Ali in a corner and started kicking him in the thighs. The champion clung to the ropes, kept his body in the air and responded as if pedaling on a bicycle until LeBell stepped in to separate. In the sixth, Ali wanted to grab Inoki's ankle, but the Japanese pinned him with his other leg, sent him to the mat, rolled onto his chest, and squatted on his face. Again the referee separated them, one knows why.
Muhammad Ali is grabbed by the ropes and jumps to avoid Antonio Inoki's kicks.
Lying on the canvas, Antonio Inoki holds Muhammad Ali's foot as he tries to kick it.
The public was not the only one who looked down on what was happening in the ring. Angelo Dundee , Ali's trainer, watched with concern the wounds that Inoki's kicks caused in his pupil's legs. He even vehemently demanded that tape be placed on the wrestler's boots, because a loose eyelet was cutting the heavy monarch from the WBA and WBC.
Fifteen ridiculous rounds, during which Ali threw just six punches, lasted the show . Inoki had finished up on the cards, but the timely discount of three points for different infractions of a regulation that no one knew for sure made the contest finished tied . After reading the ruling, a large part of the public that had packed the Budokan began throwing objects into the ring and shouting for the return of the money invested in the tickets to witness this fair show.
Antonio Inoki spent most of the match against Muhammad Ali lying on the ring canvas.
"How could I knock him down if he was already down? I just couldn't hit him while he was on the floor, ”Ali complained after the match. Inoki claimed victory and argued that he had been hurt by the rule change. Less contemplative was the Japan Times . “ The famous match of the century turned out to be the scam of the century. The fight was pretty boring from start to finish and showed once again that when an apple fights an orange, the result can only be a fruit salad, "the newspaper explained the next day.
Beyond the $ 6 million he charged, the trip to Tokyo was costly to Ali. The wounds on her legs caused two clots and an infection. The boxer had planned to hold two shows in the Philippines and South Korea before returning to the United States, but had to cancel them. Back in Los Angeles, he spent two weeks under medical treatment.
Muhammad Ali tries to advance, but Antonio Inoki prepares to receive him with a clean kick.
On September 28, he went back into a ring: at Yankee Stadium in New York, he won on points and in a very tight decision to Ken Norton , number one in the ranking of the Association and the Council, in the third confrontation between the two (he they had defeated each other in 1973). "I honestly think he beat me, but the judges gave me the fight and I'm grateful," Ali admitted a couple of weeks later.
But the confrontation with Inoki had left sequels. According to Ferdie Pacheco, Ali never regained mobility after the kicks she received in Tokyo and the infection in her legs. The champion made two more defenses (against Alfredo Evangelista and Earnie Shavers) before giving up the belts: in one of the great hits in heavyweight history, Leon Spinks , who had only made seven professional fights, defeated him in a decision divided in February 1978. While Ali would win the rematch seven months later, the end of his brilliant career was imminent .
Inoki's course over the rings was far more extensive and included other duels against boxers, such as the one he beat Spinks on October 9, 1986, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. For two more decades, he racked up millions and gathered crowds (in April 1995, he fought 190,000 people in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea) before retiring. In addition, he was a member of the Chamber of Councilors of his country (the equivalent of the Senate in Argentina) between 1989 and 1995 and between 2013 and 2019.
Antonio Inoki and Muhammad Ali were friends after meeting in the ring.
As with other adversaries, with whom he had also exchanged blows and verbal fireworks, Ali ended up developing a very cordial bond with Inoki. When he married Veronica Porche, his third wife, in June 1977 (one year after the match), he invited the Japanese and his partner, actress Mitsuko Baisho, to the party.
The Asian returned his kindness when he made his last professional fight, against the American Don Frye, on April 4, 1998. That night, Ali, who by then already had serious limitations in mobility and speech as a result of Parkinson's, was in the front row of the Tokyo Dome. After Inoki's victory, he went up to the ring to hug him. And his representative read a message on his behalf: “In the ring, we were tough opponents. After that, we build love and friendship with mutual respect. It is an honor and a pleasure to be in the ring with my good friend after 22 years. ”
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