Antonio Inoki, a distinguished professional wrestler who took on world boxing champion Muhammad Ali in 1976 and made numerous trips to North Korea as a lawmaker, has died, a source close to him said Saturday. He was 79.

Inoki, whose real name was Kanji Inoki, was a pioneer in the area of mixed martial arts, staging audacious battles between top wrestlers and champions from other combat sports such as judo and karate, before he entered the international spotlight with his fight against Ali.

The Yokohama native moved to Brazil when he was in junior high school. Inoki turned pro at the age of 17 after he caught the eye of the father of Japanese pro wrestler Rikidozan, who was in Brazil on tour.

File photo shows Antonio Inoki in Tokyo in May, 2016. (Kyodo)

Inoki, along with Shohei "Giant" Baba, were principle players in the resurgence of pro-wrestling's popularity after Rikidozan's death. Inoki founded the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co. in 1972.

While the "bout of the century" with Ali at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo was slammed as a stunt, the mere fact that Inoki was able to stage the event at all won the hearts of many. Over the years, his domestic popularity grew while a number of his catchy inane sayings became popular across the country.

File photo shows Antonio Inoki's leg kick catch Muhammad Ali during their wrestling-boxing match at Nippon Budokan on June 26, 1976. (Bettman/Getty/Kyodo)

 

In 1989, Inoki was elected to Japan's House of Councillors as a member of the now-defunct Sports and Peace Party. He traveled to Iraq prior to the 1990 Gulf War to gain the release of Japanese being held hostage.

Professional wrestler-turned Japanese lawmaker Antonio Inoki (C), surrounded by Japanese nationals who had been prevented from leaving Iraq and their families, pump their fists at the Mansour Melia Hotel in Baghdad on Dec. 6, 1990, following Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's decision to release all foreigners stranded in Iraq, including the Japanese.  (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

He retired as a wrestler in 1998 but was re-elected as an upper house member in 2013 running as a member of another opposition party.

Having built a strong personal connection with North Korea over the years, Inoki traveled there repeatedly to help resolve the issue of that nation's past abductions of Japanese citizens, before ending his political career in 2019.

In July 2020, Inoki announced he had been diagnosed with heart disease.

File photo taken in July, 2014 shows Antonio Inoki in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square. (Kyodo)