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LOS ANGELES. – There are many in the boxing world who are appalled by the prospect of Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor climbing into a ring next month.
Bob Arum is, emphatically, not one of them. After more than half a century in the fight game, the legendary 85-year-old promoter often gives the impression of a man who has seen it all before.
And when it comes to cross-code duels in the vein of Mayweather-McGregor, he has. Forty-one years ago, Arum promoted the infamous Tokyo bout between Muhammad Ali and Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki.
That shambolic night at the Nippon Budokan arena on June 26, 1976 saw Inoki spend most of the bout on his back, attempting to kick out at Ali’s legs. Ali meanwhile threw only six punches in 15 rounds of farce.
The spectacle is widely seen as a tawdry low-point in Ali’s glittering career, a cynical, no-holds-barred grab for a multi-million-dollar pay-day.
Or as Arum remembers it: “It was the most atrocious crap that I’ve ever put on.” – AFP.
Online Reporter