The public broadcaster NHK said he died of heart failure. In July 2020, Inoki announced that he had been diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis, an incurable disease that affects the nervous system and the heart.
Inoki, whose real name was Kanji Inoki, was a pioneer in the area of mixed martial arts, staging daring battles between top fighters and champions of other combat sports such as judo and karate before entering the international spotlight. with his exhibition fight against Ali.
Born in Yokohama in 1943. He lost his father at the age of 5 and moved to Brazil with his family at the age of 13 to work on coffee farms. Inoki became a professional wrestler at the age of 17 after he caught the eye of Japanese wrestler Rikidozan’s father, who was touring Brazil.
He made his debut on September 30, 1960, and from 1962 he began using his battle name: “Antonio Inoki”.
Inoki and Shohei “Giant” Baba were the main players in the resurgence in popularity of professional wrestling after Rikidozan’s death. In 1972 Inoki founded the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co.
While the “fight of the century” with Ali at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo was criticized as a gimmick, the mere fact that he was able to stage the event won the hearts of many fans.
In 1989, Inoki was elected to Japan’s upper house from the now-defunct Party for Sports and Peace. He traveled to Iraq before the 1990 Gulf War to obtain the release of the Japanese held hostage.
He retired as a fighter in 1998 and was re-elected as a member of the upper house in 2013 as a member of another opposition party.
Having built a strong personal connection to North Korea over the years, Inoki traveled to North Korea several times to help resolve the issue of kidnappings of Japanese citizens there, before ending his political career in 2019.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
