Pitting two Famous Protagonists-each from one of these most Popular Combat Sports-
against one another has been part of Folklore for many Decades!!
Probably to the Layman the most Memorable such Contest was when MUHAMMAD ALI-
Boxing's WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT Champion 'took on' ANTONIO INOKI-then Holding one
of Wrestling's WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT Titles!-As a Spectacle this 'Match' wasn't great BUT
as a Money-Spinning Venture it was a sure-fire Winner!!
The Promotional Genius that was PAUL LINCOLN was straight onto this and brought RANDY
TURPIN into his Stable!-Apart from Anything else this former WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT
Boxing Champion was a really Popular Character as well!!
Initially Staging Boxer vs. Wrestler Top of the Bill Contests to get TURPIN up and running-
RANDY was Trained and soon became a full-fledged Wrestler in his own right!
TURPIN vs Wrestlers almost exclusively ended in Knock Out Wins for the ex-Boxer-his
'Victims' included LEON ARRAS-This resulting in the Power in his hands!-Although not
allowed to Punch all TURPIN needed to do was land open-handed heavy blows to the
head which was usually enough to incapacitate his Adversary!!
Article to follow++ one of my Rare YELLOW GRANADA MINI-POSTER/FLYERS
Headlining one such TURPIN Bout!-Look out for GEORGE KIDD and WHITE ANGEL
on the same Bill!!
What do YOU think regarding the Merit of such Bouts?-LINCOLN did well with them!!
MAIN MASK
In school it was always a big debating point would a wrestler beat a boxer?
On my latest visit with Dave Cameron he mentioned one of his few regrets was not taking up Randolph Turpin's invitation to watch him wrestle then visit his house to see the wrestling & boxing items.
Thanks all! Very interesting!!
I should add that the referee in the Ali, Inoki fight was Gene LeBell who apart from also having pro wrestler and Hollywood stuntman on his c.v. Also partook in a well documented mixed martial arts Judo v Boxer match which can be viewed on line. Le Belle’s family ran the Los Angels wrestling territory for many years.
Gene, a larger than life character, was his own best publicist and although there is no doubt he was a judoka of the highest order, to here him speak, he was Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Captain Marvel all rolled into one!
When my brother in law met Randolph Turpin boxer vs wrestler was back in the 50's He was still wrestling for Dale Martin Promotions se London!
Here a a couple of pics. from Ali’s subsequent tour of the U.K. and Torquay.
Ali looking a bit more comfortable here: Up against Mad Man Mountain Maggie, Ali wearing his ‘special’ gloves won in the third round with an uppercut and sunset flip. The bout was held in the back of Dai Dower’s Fish and Chip shop, Tonypandy.
I never enjoyed the worked concept of B v W. Mostly used in the States, Dempsey made a good living refereeing wrestling and doing one off mixed or boxing matches with many a villain, in which I believe he always won, thus proving an ageing, washed up fighter will always beat tough villainous wrestler, which kind of dampens the wrestlers you want people to pay money to see. At least Buddy Rogers was put over Ezzard Charles and a couple of other named boxers. (Don’t get me wrong, Boxing was probably my first love).
Actually, decades on, the Ali Inoki match looks a lot better than it did at the time, when we were all agog at what might take place. We were expecting both men to go head to head, instead they went foot to leg, but if you look at the online footage, Ali’s legs, look as if they’ve been through a mangle.
He also fought my brother in law Frankie Huges AkA "The Sydenham Cyclone!"
This bill would have great appeal to the fans of 1961
1961
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/8c8314_99a2a93704f641f69710e7f4c532ee61.pdf
Use the calendar to date shows. You need some wrestling knowledge but can narrow it down and then come on here if necessary to get someone to pinpoint the year.
The main event might have been a disappointment, but look at the rest of the bill. Fantastic.
Except that "mixing sports" is what created MMA/UFC and all the spin offs, which became huge money makers and are the places where (if they were around at the time), the likes of Billy Robinson would have ended up.
The Ali vs Inoki fight would have been great, if they had gone ahead with the original rules, but to make it even, they disallowed Inoki from leg sweeps from a standing position, and so he had to try and do that while on his back. Ali's team also (at very short notice) said no to throws or tackles from a standing position. Inoki was taught by Karl Gotch, so while he would have been quickly flattened by Ali, if taking blows, he would have been in a great position if a gloved Ali had ended up on the mat.
I'd forgotten all about the Ali v Inoki match until you posted this. I can now recall being quite young and really looking forward to watching it, but sadly it was a bit rubbish with Inoki just shuffling along the ring on his arse endlessly kicking Ali's legs. I think all it did was show up the fact that mixing sports just doesn't work a bit like a football team playing a rugby team. Maybe the world of wrestling should have put Kendo in as he could have hypnotised Inoki. Ain't that so Matey Dave?
Think I'll see it the Ali/Inoki fight is on YouTube.
I was not over enthusiastic.
What about a boxer v another boxer in a wrestling match?
I saw Jack London v Lloyd Barnett at Newcastle.
Jack London won by a Knockout after about 5 rounds of struggling. Not many wrestling moves either.