Perhaps a precursor to today’s modern Mixed Martial Arts competitions, Muhammad Ali fought Japanese professional wrestler Antonio Inoki in at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo on June 26, 1976. At the time, Ali had come off a knockout victory over Richard Dunn in May and was the reigning WBC/WBA Heavyweight Champion. Inoki, who had been taught the art of catch wrestling by legendary wrestler Karl Gotch, was staging exhibition fights against champions of various martial arts, in an attempt to show that pro wrestling was the dominant fighting discipline. The majority of the fight saw Inoki on his back, kicking Ali's legs 107 times uninhibited by the referee (due to a particular rule negotiated shortly before the fight, which allowed him to do so without being disqualified.) The result of the fight, a draw, has long been debated by the press and fans.

Offered is an Ali signature, in black marker, on a 14 x 23-inch white cardboard poster advertising “The War of The Worlds!! Battle of the Champions! Friday Evening, June 25” closed circuit television presentation of this unusual, and memorable, fight. Ali has signed his name to the left of his image on the poster, which appears in a white center panel, while the left panel, in yellow, advertises the scheduled fight between Andre the Giant and Chuck Wepner. The poster has a blank space at the right “reserved for added co-feature that will appear in your local area.”  Accompanying the poster is a 3 x 5 ½ -inch red cardstock ticket to the “Exclusive Theatre Telecast – No Home T.V.” at the Washington Avenue Arena in Albany, New York. This item comes with a LOA from Beckett Authentication.

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