“Ali Couldn’t Punch Him”: Joe Rogan Recalls the Time When Boxing Icon Muhammad Ali Took On a “Fascinating” Japanese Wrestling Legend

Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather may have had one of the biggest box office fights in history. However, they were not the first to do so. There were a few crossover fights before ‘The Money Fight’. Boxing icon Muhammad Ali once fought a legendary Japanese wrestler named Antonio Inoki in Japan. Joe Rogan recently shed light on this famous clash in a recent episode of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’.

Antonio Inoki was not just a wrestler, but also a politician and an MMA promoter as well. His fight against Ali took place in Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Arena in 1976, and the fans have dubbed this fight the biggest crossover fight in history.

Joe Rogan recalls Muhammad Ali vs Antonio Inoki

The UFC color commentator mentioned that he was fascinated by Antonio Inoki’s personality. Rogan mentioned the tactic he used to fend off Ali’s offense. He said, “[Antonio] Inoki was a fascinating character. What an interesting thing he did, too, when he fought [Muhammad Ali]. He leg-kicked him.” The only weapon in the Japanese wrestler’s arsenal was his brutal leg kicks that ended up causing Ali some serious damage.

Joe Rogan mentioned he believed that it was a real fight due to Inoki’s unusual tactics, which rendered Muhammad Ali helpless. “It was kind of a real fight because Ali was boxing,” said the 55-year-old. He added, “He’s moving around and Inoki got on his butt and butt-skewed it and started kicking his legs. Ali couldn’t punch him… He f***ed Ali’s legs up really bad, dude.”

The UFC commentator wonders what may have gone down behind the scenes

Joe Rogan mentioned that he didn’t know what happened in the build-up to the fight. He isn’t sure if the fight was staged or meant to be a real one. Rogan said, “I don’t know what they worked out. Whether or not it was going to be a legit fight or whether Ali had any idea that Inoki was going to kick his legs. I don’t know what the agreement was.”

However, the 55-year-old claims that the fight was very interesting as Ali couldn’t reach Inoki due to his continuous leg-kicking tactics.

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The fight didn’t really show what Muhammad Ali could have brought to the table since Antonio Inoki was playing the ground game. However, some have speculated that ‘The People’s Champion’ was supposedly paid around $6 million for taking the fight in Japan. It still remains one of the most remembered fights in all of combat sports history.

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