Japanese member of parliament and former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist Antonio Inoki was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia in order to help bokator and wrestling in the Kingdom grow.
Secretary-general of the NOCC Vath Chamroeun appointed the former wrestler on Sunday at NOCC headquarters. Chamroeun said: “Antonio Inoki is a sports activist who deserves the goodwill ambassador position because he has helped Cambodian martial arts including judo and taekwondo since 1992.
We can also learn from Japan’s experiences in hosting the 2020 Tokyo Olympic as in 2023 Cambodia will host the SEA Games.” Inoki famously fought Muhammad Ali in a mixed rules bout in 1976.