Читать книгу Ali vs. Inoki. The Forgotten Fight That Inspired Mixed Martial Arts and Launched Sports Entertainment онлайн

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Back to Inoki! So I had heard about “Inoki-san” many times and apparently he had heard about me as well, because in 2000 I was asked if I wanted to join his company, New Japan Pro Wrestling. To talk about this new deal I was asked to come and meet the great Inoki at his gym in Santa Monica.

When I walked in the first thing I noticed was somebody stretching on the wrestling mat, doing full splits as his upper body and face were flat on the ground. When he sat up I saw it was Inoki, then fifty-eight years old and still in great shape. He immediately stood and came over to shake my hand, a very friendly and charismatic person. You knew instantly why people are drawn to him.

It was an easy conversation, like I knew him already. We talked, shook hands, and the deal was done.

When Inoki left I talked a little bit more to his son-in-law, Simon Inoki. We talked about the company and what other things his father-in-law had done, and almost immediately the fight with Ali came up. Now I was always under the impression that the fight he was talking about was a “worked” fight, just like in pro wrestling, but Simon assured me that it was a real fight and he went over all the details.