today.

Why that fight did happen is that Ali was offered more money for what was supposed to be a pro-wrestling match, where he would lose to Inoki, than he had ever earned for a boxing match. But in the week before the fight, Ali suddenly decided that he didn't want to lose. At that time, nobody knew whether the fight would or wouldn’t be real. It was promoted as being real. It was held in Japan, where there were no regulations, away from the regulatory bodies in the U.S. The media didn’t know, but at the time, most were skeptical of the legitimacy of it, and unlike with McGregor, almost nobody in the media or the U.S. knew who Inoki was.

The Japanese backers of Inoki were looking atand fight. Today, with judges who understood low kicks, Inoki would have won at least 12 of the 15 rounds. Keep in mind this was one of the greatest heavyweight boxers who ever lived against a pro wrestler. Inoki trained in submissions and was Japan's biggest star, but behind the scenes was never considered a legitimate top-tier shooter like a Billy Robinson was in the era.

Ali was also nearly involved in another freak show fight in 1971 with Wilt Chamberlain, who was the biggest name in the NBA at the time. The idea behind it was that the public would be intrigued by the size difference. Chamberlain was 7-foot-1 and 290 pounds. But after a press conference that got national attention, and numerous publicity photos, the fight fell