At the time, Semenko was the biggest heavyweight in the NHL, and in 1983, Ali was only 41 years old and 5 years removed as the world champion. The fight went down in Edmonton, and as we found out, was really Mark Messiers Uncle’s idea! (apparently he was always looking for the next big promotion)

Apparently Semenko trained hard for the fight (which was more of a stunt) but it turned out to be a draw. You gotta love Ali’s classic smack talk:

Ali comes to meet Semenko
But Semenko’s starting to retreat
If Semenko goes back an inch further,
He’ll end up in a ringside seat.

There was also a lot of celebrity presence at the show, along with the Oilers, Jan Micheal Vincent was the guest announcer, and some say even Micheal Jackson was in the crowd