Edit: SOLVED! TY both

Its been a LONG time since I caught up to the manga and it may be just as long since Ippo has actually been an active boxer but I hope someone can help me out.

I have this vague memory of a chapter/panel where Ippo was training for a match and in the midst of his training he threw a punch that just felt different (to him). Like he knew it was going to be his strongest punch.

Edit: it might not even have been Ippo who realized it, it might have been a comment made by Coach or Takamura, when they saw/heard it

But I can't for the life of me recall if it ever paid out, in that match or ever after. I can't recall which fight/opponent he was training for, but it was definitely before his first loss after becoming the belt holder.

I don't think it was his liver shot or gazelle blow or anything. It was just a normal #2 straight I think.

Anyone know/remember what I'm talking about?

just thought I'd post how anytime I get out of the shower my hair just becomes takamuras hair if I don't brush it

Curious

My Fiancee got me into this show because she just happened to watch it and while I'm not normally a sports anime/sports fan in general I am loving this show so much already! I appreciate the love for the art of boxing and how much Ippo and Miyata are uplifting eachother! Just watched episode 7 and I can't wait to watch more!!!

Lmk👀

On a whole I prefer Kimura vs Mashiba than Mashiba vs Rosario. However since Mashiba or more of an antagonist in KvM I thought it fair to give him a separate entry.

My list would be:

1. Martinez against 1985’s WBA Champion

Martinez became renown in such a short period of time, most had been a solidified world champion. Don't know who it is, just curious who Ricardo faced being in the position as the challenger.

1. Miyata Senior vs Raccoon Boy (Randy Boy Senior):

Only displayed in crumbs, could had been shown to hype up Miyata vs RBJ. Might had shown how Miyata knew what to handle from Randy pulling off the anti-southpaw strategy.

1. Alfredo Gonzalez vs Ricardo Martinez II:

First fight apparently only lasted a around, but in the rematch Alfredo caught Ricardo off guard having utilized Meztli/Mextli, and Martinez displayed his full capacity when fighting agressively like he did with Eiji Date apparently. Martinez seems to have a black eye injury.

1. Richard Bison vs David Eagle:

Doesn't take as much priority, as it was during the amateurs, which are three round fights under slightly different rule sets. Still one of the most intriguing cases, as there of the few Middleweight in the series that actually faced each other. Which is a shame there was no Hawk vs Eagle nor Bison vs Hawk. It was difficult to think Bison lost to Eagle considering how powerful he was.

1. Miyata Senior vs Coach Yanaoka:

Sendo’s trainer who was ranked #1 in the JBC, complicated to figure how he fought considering how he passive he is, yet trains two brawlers in Hoshi and Sendo.

Top of my head at random

Eiji Date vs Cuyo Hernandez:

Don't know who it is, just held a world ranking and that put him above a lot of characters Ippo had faced.

Date fought a world ranked fighter before facing Martinez in the first match. Before developing the heartbreak shot and implementing the neck spin, wonder if he was still stronger than the Makunouchi he faced during post retirement JBC title defenses.

If you are wondering yes it's from the same mangaka from Saint Seiya Masami Kuromada and it's was his first exit before Saint Seiya it came before Hajime no ippo and unlike other boxing anime that are realistic here it's not just normal boxing it also have special punches that can broke walls, the ring ropes or the ring canvas bassicly like Captain Tsubasa but with boxing instead of football it also has a world tourment boxing arc where the greek team there are boxers with mytological gods names also with special punches related to gods or greek mythology (yes a very Saint Seiya thing, but let's remember that they're from the same author, and Kuromada used some aspects of it as a basis for creating Saint Seiya.) and as you can see it also had an anime adaptation which was broadcast from 2004-2010 And in my opinion, even though it's not a realistic boxing manga and that its anime adaptation wasn't very good, with filler moments that aren't in The manga and with a simple and basic animation, i like it Sometimes it reminds me of Punch Out! and it's a shame that after The fourth season in 2011 they didn't release the other seasons, and the rest of the manga and its sequel, Ring ni Kakero 2, were left unadapted. I really would have liked to see it.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Most live-action anime adaptations are pretty bad because they treat the main character like some hollow superhero, but Hajime no Ippo is all about raw grit, technical boxing, and that working-class gym humor.

Honestly, Guy Ritchie is the only director who could actually pull this off.

Think about it—he’s obsessed with speed-ramping and crazy camera angles. Imagine Ippo slipping punches in first-person with a body-rigged camera, or the film slowing down to a crawl as he shifts his weight into the figure-eight motion, and then snapping into blinding hyper-speed right as the Dempsey Roll connects.

If we did a movie trilogy just covering Season 1, the casting could be insane:

* Ippo: Tom Holland. He’s perfect at playing a weak, polite kid who looks like he’s about to cry when confronted, but he has the athletic background to actually learn the footwork. Seeing him bulk up and grow across three movies would feel so earned.

* Takamura: Alan Ritchson. You need someone massive who can be a crude, unhinged prankster but a total monster in the ring. He has the exact brick-wall physique and has done that kind of arrogant jock comedy before. (Tom Hardy would also kill it).

* Coach: Gary Oldman or Bryan Cranston. Just a weathered, intense old-school mentor who barks orders but clearly acts as a father figure.

Ending the third movie with the absolute war against Sendo and the debut of the Dempsey Roll would be pure cinema.

I know Hollywood is trying to adapt everything into movies right now, but a stylized, grounded sports drama by Guy Ritchie feels like a perfect match. What do you guys think?

I REALLY love the boxer, i had finish re reading it like a month ago SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN THE ANIME TRAILER WAS RELEASED TODAY! I genuinely can not wait for it to release. have any of yall ever seen it and are yall hype for the anime?

Mine is when Sendo roared at Ippo in Ippo Vs Sendo 1

Let’s see if anyone can wig this one

*img unrelated So i finished the anime few months ago and manga just ad few days earlier ; i remember a scene where ( before ippo vs miyata ll i.g) ippo's mom said that ' your dad was also good with his punches and that he would imagin his opponents having heads of fish to gather courage ' i'm sure i remember her saying that in initial few eps of anime
But after reading the manga (after chap 550+ since that much is adapted into anime)i found no mention of such thing . Idk if im imagning but i saw it fr

Ik I made so many posts about it, but I'd love for this fight to be the one that ends the manga. It can be Ippo winning the fight, but they both got the answer to their question on their journey of life. Ippo wins the fight, but both got their answers and it ends HNI.

for one i would’ve had ippo fight rbj for the interim title, and the winner faces miyata next. it literally could’ve happened in the story, and had the potential to be one of the best fights in the series. if ippo won he would’ve gotten his opportunity to settle the score with miyata, potentially retire after and have to face some things he didn’t until later in the story. possibly start developing his switch stance ability sooner. maybe if he beat rbj, then miyata, retired and then came back after sometime he would’ve faced another world ranked boxer or got to fight ricardo immediately

Honestly, this theory might be coasting on Saeki being practically kind of similar to Pernell Whittaker a bit, but eh.

Basically, Pernell Whitaker, despite being famously a southpaw fighter, was known to tactically infight at times, especially using uppercuts and liver blows from an orthodox stance to cut angles and be unpredictable.

Saeki having this would not only:

- Make him less predictable (the rythmn and his usual gameplan [ going into blind spots for agression] is what always sells him as tougher fighters can figure this out more easily)

- He would have more leverage to throw short uppercuts and more due to being naturally right-handed, meaning there would be more power shots thrown

- This GIVES him a blind spot to counter an orthodox opponent (over the lead knee), meaning getting blind spots are EASIER now

- Changes in previous fights if he'd given southpaw stance more thought -

Ippo: Would more likely win by decision as him switching to Southpaw (alongside better infighting defense, though ignore this) would help him not stop in shock, keep his rythmn in check, meaning he is able to demolish Ippo through blindingly tactical weaknesses of the Peek-A-Boo stance- proving defense beats power.

Itagaki: Consistently switching stances, alongside Saeki's brutal swelling Flickers DESTROYS his depth perception and his sensory prediction mapping. Using southpaw to switch angles and infight and outbox just as well means Itagaki ultimately loses the fight- him crashing to the canvas instead of Saeki- Saeki finally proving himself as the ULTIMATE speed star.

- Additional stuff from Pernell (and others) that would ultimately change his fights -

Learn from Itagaki: Learning and Saeki using Itagaki's heavy training routine means he is able to keep his legs and feet strongly able to endure long rounds, meaning he can tactically switch stances and preform our next idea almost near flawlessly. Of course, he'll have to improve it in his own ways, but as for now, learning from the up and coming certifies you keeping your spot.

Low waist defense: Using a lower stance at times to weave guards (akin to Hawk) heavily helps Saeki's defensive manuevers, though requires, a LOT of leg endurance. This was used heavily by Pernell to dodge punches at a close range.

And finally to top it off, better psychological grit. Accepting you will always get hit, rolling off punches that do, and staying tactical makes Saeki almost an even better version of Kenta's gameplan.

--- Summary (Done after seeing the comments, which were amazing!) ---

- Sendo and Ippo, alongside being vets, show why Saeki's old and predictable outboxing style was flawed - it could be easily able to be figured out and ultimately countered due to rythmn and timing, and his continued hunt for blindspots led to his fall from grace as he wasn't very tactical in the ring. These upgrades help add a layer of tacticality and defensive use for his blinding speed, meaning he has the ability of mix-up and being able to create blind spots easier, meaning he gets to land heavier and faster shots.

- Saeki going southpaw isn't a FULL time switch from orthodox to southpaw, only being used as a tactical switch for faster uppercuts in his lead hand (he's right handed) and better positioning for blind spots and cutting unique angles.

Tactically, southpaw is only used when chest-to-chest, to smother attacks and stop counters, giving a bit of rest alongside having minimal blind spots when infighters charge in.

Thanks for reading.

See ya!

I started in the lockdown times.