How Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki sparked a crossover fight trend

Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor, Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, and Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul. Crossover boxing is commonplace in the modern era, but it all started in 1976 – with one of the most famous boxers of all time.

On June 26 of the same year, Muhammad Ali, then two-time world heavyweight boxing champion, faced Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki in front of 14,500 fans at the Budokan Arena in Tokyo.

It was a fight that ended with Ali being hospitalized – and with the disappointed crowd throwing garbage into the ring.

But before it all began, expectations were high.

Ali was introduced to the president of the Japanese Amateur Wrestling Association, Ichiro Hatha, in 1975 and the boxer asked him if anyone would be willing to challenge him for a transfer fee of one million dollars.

It made headlines in Japan, and Inoki – one of the country's biggest names – and his backers offered Ali $6 million for the fight.

Sean Allsop of the Sporting Witness podcast spoke to photographer Claude Charlier to look back at the fight that was billed as the “War of the Worlds.” Charlier, then 23, was living in Tokyo at the time of the fight.

“There were tons of people outside the Budokan hoping to catch a glimpse of Muhammad Ali or Antonio Inoki,” he said.

Charlier remembers the excitement in the arena: “Inoki always wore his purple robe. Ali came in waving and screaming and it was pretty exciting at first.”

For Ali – who had beaten Joe Frazier just eight months earlier in the third fight of their trilogy – the fight was an opportunity to cement his status not only as the greatest boxer in the world, but also as the greatest athlete.

Originally it was only planned as a rehearsal, but the exhibition match turned into a real fight. However, Ali had observed Inoki training in Tokyo and when he realized the threat he posed, new rules were introduced.

“Inoki told me something interesting,” said Charlier.

“He said, 'I don't think Ali is taking the fight very seriously. He thinks this is just going to be a show. But it's not a show, we're going to fight for real and I could break his arm or his leg.' Inoki was a strong fighter.”