A popular Japanese professional wrestler and lawmaker Antonio Inoki, who faced a world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in a mixed martial arts match in 1976, has died at 79.
“As you can see, I’m pushing myself to the limit, and I’m getting power as I get to see you,” he said.
Inoki made his pro-wrestling debut in 1960 and gave himself a ring name Antonio Inoki two years later.With his archrival and another Japanese legend, the late Shohei “Giant” Baba, Inoki made pro-wrestling a hugely popular sport in Japan. Inoki founded the New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1972. Inoki built a personal connection with North Korea over the years and visited the country repeatedly to help resolve Japan’s longstanding issue of past abductions of Japanese nationals to the North.An outpouring of tributes were posted on social media.
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