Ali was almost 35 years old in that fight.
His legs were gone five years earlier, when he had to do Rope-A-Dope against Joe Frazier in 1971.
In the days leading up to the fight Ali and Inoki's representatives began to renegotiate the rules. A list of restrictions was imposed on Inoki. He would not be allowed to throw, grapple or tackle Ali, and could not land any kicks unless he had one knee on the mat.[3] Ali's camp also demanded that the rules not be made public before the fight. Judo expert and US Marine Donn Draeger noted: "The rules have been so seriously modified that the contest is no longer boxing versus wrestling. Unless this were done there would be no way to choreograph the match and make it look convincing. Ali can grapple or punch the man down; Inoki is not allowed to leg-dive or tackle. That latter restriction is the same as prohibiting Ali from jabbing. What a farce!".[4]
The fight
As soon as the opening bell rang, Inoki ran the 16-foot gap and slid at the legs of Ali, who sidestepped the attack. Inoki stayed on the ground for all but the first 14 seconds of the three-minute first round, kicking at Ali and landing one clean hit to Ali's right leg. The majority of the fight saw Inoki on his back kicking Ali's legs, occasionally connecting. By the third round, a wound had appeared on Ali's left knee.[3]
Ali began walking around the ring, out of reach of Inoki's kicks, taunting him by shouting "Coward Inoki! Inoki no fight!". In the fourth round, Inoki, still on his back, trapped Ali in a corner and started kicking wildly at his thighs. Ali leapt up on to the ropes and tucked his legs underneath him. In round six, Ali tried to grab Inoki's left ankle as he kicked him, but Inoki wrapped his right leg around Ali's right calf and flipped him over on the canvas. He then rolled over on top of Ali's chest. While in this hold, Inoki elbowed Ali in the face, costing him three points.[4]
Ali did not throw his first punch until the seventh round. In the eighth, Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, demanded that Inoki tape the tips of his shoelaces, claiming that one of the eyelets came loose and was cutting Ali's legs. A wound had already opened up on his thigh. In the tenth, Ali threw his second punch, and two more in the thirteenth. He threw only six punches in total during the fight.[5]
The fight, went the fifteen round distance and was scored as a draw. Inoki had been three points up but was docked all three for fouls. The result meant no one had to lose face; Inoki could claim he would have won had it not been for the penalties, whereas Ali could defend himself by saying his opponent had cheated.[4]
Aftermath
The fight was poorly received. The crowd at the Budokan threw rubbish into the ring and chanted "Money back! Money back!". Donn Draeger said of the response: "the Budokan janitorial people took almost a full day to clean up the garbage that was hurled at the two 'combatants' as the result of their lousy performance".[4]
The public, unaware of the restrictions put on Inoki, were critical of his tactics during the fight. Inoki's right leg, the leg he had used for the majority of his kicks was broken. During the fight Ali's left leg was badly swollen and bleeding, which led to an infection. He also suffered two blood clots in his legs affecting his mobility for the remainder of his boxing career. At one point amputation was also discussed.[3]
Me thinks many here do not do much fighting. Mayweather might last longer than 30 seconds but not by much.