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Japanese professional wrestler and politician Antonio Inoki, who faced world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in a mixed martial arts match in 1976, has died at the age of 79.
Inoki had made the sport of professional wrestling famous in Japan, pioneering mixed martial arts bouts between top wrestlers and champions of other martial arts such as judo, karate and boxing.
In 1976, he rose to worldwide fame when he took on Ali in a mixed martial arts match at Tokyo's Budokan Hall -- an exhibition that has been remembered by Japanese fans as the "fight of the century."
Here you can see the »fight of the century«:
However, many observers outside of Japan had not taken the fight seriously, calling it unprofessional.
Inoki didn't attempt wrestling holds for most of the match, instead lying on the mat and kicking Ali's legs as the boxing champion circled him.
Inoki later went into politics.
He championed "peace through sport" and made more than 30 trips to North Korea hoping to bring about peace and friendship.
His mentor, early pro wrestling superstar Rikidozan, was from North Korea.
Inoki, who was battling a rare disease called amyloidosis, died Saturday, according to the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Federation, of which he was the founding president.
bka/Reuters/AP
