Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, who fought world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in 1976, has died aged 80, the agency reported. Kyodo .
Antonio Inoki (real name Kanji Inoki) was a pioneer of mixed martial arts. He hosted fights between wrestling and sports like judo and karate before becoming famous for his fight against Ali, which ended in a draw.
Inoki turned professional at the age of 17 after being noticed by the father of Japanese professional wrestler Rikidozan.
Over the years, Inoki’s popularity has grown in Japan. In 1989, he became a member of the Japanese Parliament. He traveled to Iraq before the Gulf War in 1990 to secure the release of Japanese hostages.
Inoki ended his athletic career in 1998 and continued his political activities until 2019.
In addition, he established personal ties with the DPRK and traveled there many times to help solve the problem of Japanese abductions.
In July 2020, Inoki revealed that he had been diagnosed with heart disease.
Source : MatchTV
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