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

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Talking later to Don Frye, a superstar at New Japan and an early killer in the UFC, he assured me as well that it was indeed a real fight. All the other pro wrestlers that I came in contact with told me the same.

I was also working for the Pride Fighting Championships (PrideFC) as a commentator and in 2002 we had the biggest show ever, called Pride “Shockwave.” Over 91,000 people were in the attendance. It was an outdoor event and when the show started Mr. Inoki came parachuting in to ringside. It was crazy, because first of all it was dark, but there was also a very strong wind coming into the arena. No problem for him. The sixty-year-old adrenaline junkie wanted to make an entrance, which he did.

Oh, and just so that you know, apparently Inoki was known for the ability to drink a beer superfast. It was funny, they told me that they heard I could drink a beer really fast as well, and that Inoki was the “champion.” So would I like to compete against him? I said: “No thank you, I don’t want to beat the great Inoki-san,” and laughed. And yes, of course the supercompetitive Inoki now had to have the contest. End result? He lost that title when he challenged me at an after-party for PrideFC! Haha!