Ali vs. Inoki Book Review

Title: Ali vs Inoki – The Forgotten Fight That Inspired Mixed Martial Arts and Launched Sports Entertainment
Author: Josh Gross
Publisher: BenBella Books
Release Date: June 21, 2016
Available at Amazon and other fine retailers

The Question: In a free-for-all between Rocky Marciano, Heavyweight Boxing Champion, and Lou Thesz, Wrestling Champion, who would win? – Sports Illustrated, September 19, 1955

The boxer vs. wrestler intrigue existed long before Sports Illustrated polled experts in 1955 and lived on long after. From Jack Dempsey vs. Ed “Strangler” Lewis to Lennox Lewis vs. Brock Lesnar, fans debated and at some points, promoters negotiated the clash of styles. The matches came together on rare occasions, but the major stars usually stayed away from the risk. The glaring exception occurred in 1976, forty years ago this month, when reigning boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, perhaps the most renowned athlete to ever live, battled Antonio Inoki, one of the two biggest pro wrestling stars in Japan at that time.

Ali is the most covered sports figure in history, but in the vast library of works concerning him, the Inoki fight is either a footnote or, more often, overlooked altogether. In Ali vs. Inoki, Josh Gross digs deep into the fight, the characters with a hand in it, and the intriguing circumstances that created it. Every great sportswriter of the past fifty-plus years has tackled the subject of Ali from every angle imaginable; writing a book with “The Double Greatest” as primary character is a daunting task with a high chance of merely regurgitating known information that others have told in craftier ways. By tackling this largely ignored fight, Gross succeeds at bringing something new to the shelf – an Ali so sure of himself but so unclear of what he was getting into.

Gross thoughtfully reaches back in history weave together the threads that made the fight. In telling the tale, he goes from the dawn of the twentieth century with early examples of cross training to the modern age of mixed martial arts. In between, well-researched historical facts are complemented by interesting and entertaining anecdotes that keep the story flowing. At certain points, the bridges to those anecdotes run a bit thin, but the bulk of the story is strong and well structured.

The unique dynamic of the fight and how its players came together created a wide array of topics for Gross to navigate, making this a book that will appeal to a variety of interests. Of course, Gross goes into the rises (and declines) of the titular figures, but he also invests significant ink in histories of Japanese wrestling, boxing and wrestling at Los Angeles’ Olympic Auditorium, WWE, and mixed martial arts.

The fight itself has been somewhat shrouded in confusion, if not mystery, through the years regarding how it came to be a legitimate bout and how the limiting rules were decided upon. Gross doesn’t quite definitively answer all of the questions – it would be impossible to considering the differing viewpoints of the various stakeholders – but he addresses them all in strong detail.

From the opening round of the bout, the fight was considered an embarrassment. It was criticized by contemporary writers who didn’t know what they were witnessing as Inoki threw kicks at Ali while lying on the canvas. Even in Japan, where the fight drew a 54.6 rating – more than 10 points bigger than the famous Bob Sapp vs. Akebono New Year’s Eve clash – and is considered a legendary bout, the immediate reaction was negative. Even today, when people have been exposed to the damage leg kicks can cause, the fight is considered boring but for a few moments. Somehow, Gross’ deep understanding of the fight and modern perspective on fighting makes his account of the fifteen dull rounds surprisingly gripping.

Ali vs. Inoki is the fullest account of a fight usually only told from one or two different perspectives. It marries boxing, pro wrestling, martial arts, and mixed martial arts into an entertaining book that will appeal to fans of all branches of combat sports, even the predetermined ones. For history-minded folk, the book is must-have. For the more casual combat sports readers, it’s a fine choice to learn more about the crossroads of the various pugilistic athletics.

Disclosure: BenBella Books provided 411Mania with a copy of the book for review.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.