We now present the Japanese Featherweight title match!
First out, making his way towards the blue corner,
the challenger Sawamura Ryuuhei.
Lefts like bullets, rights like thunderbolts:
the man they call the Deathblow Dragon!
The Dragon waits in the center of the ring, his gaze fixed...
...on the Japanese featherweight champion,
Makunouchi Ippo, approaching the ring!
His massive arms are already flying as he passes by the crowd.
The champ climbs up to the red corner.
Will Makunouchi's 5th title defense extend his streak of KO victories,
or will the Deathblow Dragon put him down?!
Fearless Challenger
Whoa! The challenger's already on the attack!
The bell hasn't even rung!
Not yet, Sawamura!
Are you really that eager to start another fight?
Fine!
That put the champ in a fighting mood, too.
He steps up without waiting for the bell!
I'll bring the fight to you.
I won't back down!
The tumult finally hushes long enough for the opening bell to ring.
Both men rush forward!
Oh, the challenger slips right past the champ!
Wh-What?
What's the meaning of this?
A diversion?
A taunt?
He's sizing him up, thinking about how to get the best flavor out of him.
Turn around and face me!
The champ leads off with a huge right!
He knocks the challenger off balance and continues the assault!
He's got him on the ropes!
His guard is broken!
Oh no, he falls flat on his backside!
An unfortunate slip at a crucial moment!
You're kidding me! I'm still on the mat!
H-He tried to punch the downed champion...
What are you doing?! Step back!
The referee signals for a penalty.
The challenger's already down on points.
His first punch was a blatant foul!
Is he for real?!
He tried to punch a downed opponent.
That was no down. He tripped Ippo.
Ippo's a total goody-goody.
That'll piss him off more than anything.
Do anything like that again and you're disqualified, understand?
Are you listening to me?!
Show some remorse, you cheater!
Don't disrespect the champ!
This ain't a street fight!
What a jerk!
Makunouchi, beat his ass!
Kick the crap outta him!
I'm fine. Please restart the match.
Get him, Makunouchi!
Box!
The champ attacks again!
He looks furious as he pounds away with multiple hooks.
It doesn't matter that they're all being blocked.
The challenger's backed into the corner!
A counter.
Flawless!
He dodges!
The champ slips by a sharp right!
And again!
He dodged those counters?
Makunouchi's improved rapidly with each title defense.
The champion connects with a Liver Blow!
The challenger's blank face now winces in pain!
And now a bodyblow!
A right from the champ!
And there's the bell.
Round one is over.
He stands proudly before the challenger as if to say, "How was that?"
Even an illegal punch couldn't faze this noble champion!
I'm just getting started.
The champion utterly dominated the first round.
The challenger is left staring at his back.
Can he turn things around?
That won't be enough to stop him.
I don't care how it ends as long as you don't get hurt...
Please stay safe!
Round two!
Round two begins.
Wait, the challenger wants to touch gloves?
Suddenly he's being polite!
I knew it was a trick!
You asshole!
Nice expression. Your flavor is aging perfectly.
All these petty little tactics...
Is he really as good as you guys said?
That's not the real Sawamura.
He's gearing up for something big.
The champ leaps in!
Another barrage!
A boxing match is supposed to be
where we put everything we've practiced to the test!
Where we compare the confidence and strength
that we've each gained from training!
Why is foul play all you can do?!
Stop insulting boxing!
A deep bodyblow!
The challenger's torso is bent into a chevron!
Whoa, that was close!
What a counter!
That scared me!
His timing is incredible.
Focus... stay focused!
I thought he was more of a brawler,
but he moves so fast when I see him up close.
But I've got his swing speed memorized.
If I increase my tempo, I can easily...
His step-in just got even faster!
He's down! He's down!
The champion lands a huge punch early in the second round!
Here's the count.
One!
I know you felt that. What do you say now?
Two!
Three!
Wow, the challenger pops right up like nothing happened!
Four!
Five!
Six!
Looking a little wobbly there!
Seven!
Serves you right for acting tough!
He can't fight! Count him out, ref!
Eight!
No wonder he always wins by KO.
Who wouldn't go down after a shot like that?
The challenger manages a fighting stance.
Box.
The match resumes!
The champion's looking to end it!
The challenger can only defend!
He did well to stand up,
but Makunouchi's punches shake you to the core.
You need a while to recover.
He won't get up from another one of those.
The challenger retreats to the ropes.
Gutting it out isn't gonna work.
Now's my chance!
No fair!
He clinches!
And both fighters go down!
H-He tripped me again...
No fair, doing all the hitting yourself.
Let me hit you back.
Get up.
What're you doing? Stand up!
The challenger isn't getting up. Are his legs failing him?
He's just stalling!
C'mon, ref, get him up!
He's recovering!
Hurry and restart the match. This is my big chance!
The referee signals the blue corner.
It looks like his tape has come loose.
The fight is paused.
He ripped it on purpose!
Is there no low he won't stoop to?!
All he's doing is stalling more!
You suck, Sawamura!
Are you blind, ref?!
It's fixed. Now get out there.
A bit longer. Just a bit longer...
It should've been over in a flash,
if he was actually at the level I'd expected.
But he really powered up between his last fight and this one.
I got caught off guard,
and took a lot of damage closing the knowledge gap.
We can't draw this out any longer. Go!
I'm restarting the fight. Get out of the corner!
No problem.
I've recovered now.
Box.
The fight was stopped for about 20 seconds.
I doubt he had time to fully recover.
I need to take advantage of this chance!
Something feels different...
After putting up no guard before, the challenger takes a new stance,
sticking his left arm way out in front!
Does the champ sense danger? He's not moving!
Smart man. He's got sharp instincts.
But that's Sawamura's real stance.
He only uses it against people he acknowledges to be strong.
This is his true style!
You say that's his real stance?
Yup.
Put another way, he's realized
he can't beat Makunouchi unless he takes him seriously.
Forty seconds left in the second round,
and both fighters are frozen in the ring.
I've never seen him use that stance.
He's so far away.
What do I do?
How do I get inside?
That long left's a big obstacle.
And that rhythm...
He's bouncing up and down with the same tempo as me when I step in...
Something tells me he's got it down pat.
But nothing will happen if I stand still!
Good, I'll move in as he draws back...
He's already back in his stance?!
He didn't bring his fist all the way back to his chin.
He's gonna throw another left from there!
Watch out!
Holy cow! The champ is knocked back!
That was a jab?!
It felt like getting blasted with something hard and sharp...
And piercing!
Look! He's got a nosebleed!
But he blocked it!
He's that strong?!
A jab that's all wrist and shoulder torque...
The twisting motion focuses all the power on a single point,
giving the punch incredible penetration!
It's similar to the screw punches
Middle and South American boxers use,
but his version deserves a more fitting name.
The Bullet!
It feels like he's pointing a gun at me,
and I know he's got his finger on the trigger.
If I take one step, he'll open fire!
But if he doesn't hit a vital spot, I'll still be able to move.
Pull the trigger if you think your aim's good enough!
The champion with a frontal assault!
I'll take a few shots, if it means I get my hands on you!
The Bullets fly!
A hail of lefts keep the champion at bay!
How can he fire off jabs this fast?!
He couldn't dodge that one!
He's pushed back to the center of the ring!
Throwing such hard punches at high speed...
And with incredible accuracy.
We won't be able to just rush in anymore!
How's that?!
Impressive...
Normally you'd build up a screw blow by twisting the entire body,
which makes it impossible to use it repeatedly.
But he's stopping at locking the elbow angle
and throwing it just by rotating his shoulder.
You need strong wrists and shoulders to pull that off.
Not something you can teach.
Like he'd listen, anyway.
He can't stand being taught anything.
He was born with a talent for hurting people.
That's a nasty left.
It's just a jab, but he scored a down with it.
He'll keep trying regardless.
Ippo's a lot more worked up than usual today.
He's gonna get reckless.
Makunouchi-san...
One lousy left won't hold
Makunouchi back, no matter how fast or strong it is.
Quit screwing around, Makunouchi.
Get in and break a few of that scumbag's ribs!
I won't lose.
Not to this guy.
Boxing match or brawl, I won't back down!
And there's the bell! Round two is over!
He's really pissed.
He's gonna come out swinging next round, too.
Yeah, definitely.
Right into my trap.
I'm impressed.
As a counter-puncher, he's undeniably better than me.
Makunouchi just might lose.
What?!
Better than you?
You really think so?
He'll show us soon enough.
Show us what?
Something that I, and every counter-puncher,
find incredibly intriguing.
Round three!
On to round three.
The champion responds to the cheers by rushing in again!
But he can't get inside the challenger's assault!
He's fighting from a place I can't even touch.
I need to get him in my range!
The champ puts up a cross-arm block.
His shield deflects the bullets as he slowly marches forward!
A tighter guard means you can't hit back.
That's it, get in and slug it out. It's all you can do here.
Wh-What's wrong, Ryou?
He knows Makunouchi has to get in close.
So what's he gonna do?
The fouls and cheating were to get Makunouchi to simplify his rhythm.
And by firing them off so fast, he's made him wary of the Bullet.
With Makunouchi convinced his only chance is to get in close,
he's falling into an incredibly simple pattern!
One ulterior motive on top of another...
The scenario's almost perfect!
I've got him at my distance!
Punch!
You'll feel the shock from the
top of your head to the tips of your toes.
Sawamura's right has the same speed and crack as its namesake...
The Thunderbolt!
A spray of blood and a mouthpiece fly above the ring!
What just happened?!
A right!
A right straight counter!
Son of a bitch!
It was so fast, I only saw him pull back after the punch!
The champion falls backwards!
Can he stay on his feet?!
Kid!
What? Why am I staring at the canvas?!
He's so far away!
I have to hit him. I have to attack!
He plants his feet hard!
But his legs buckle. The damage has been done!
My legs aren't working.
What happened?
Did he hit me?
A right?
A right counter?
He just now realized what happened...
That's how quick and accurate that right was!
A storm of Bullets rain down on their target!
I won't retreat! I'll fight back!
Sawamura's got the area around them locked down.
He needs to either clinch or back off.
Makunouchi won't run.
He always tries to fight back.
That's his trademark.
And it's backfiring now. At this point, he's just a sandbag.
The champ's face is swelling up as we speak!
Is he even conscious?!
Oh, he returns fire!
I'm not done!
He sticks to his guns!
I thought you were done cooking, but you need a little more time.
I slipped in low! Now I've got you!
No! He's got the timing down perfectly!
A counter-punch!
Another Thunderbolt strikes the champion dead on!
He avoids falling down by clinging to the challenger!
And that's the third round!
He still doesn't look very appetizing.
Kid, you okay?!
I'm fine.
I can keep going...
Those right counters...
I was still conscious, but I couldn't move at all.
They're sharp punches that separate brain and body.
Even when I manage to break through the lefts,
that right's waiting for me.
First it was all illegal moves, and now it's textbook boxing!
Damn it, what should I do?!
Ow.
Don't panic.
Keep your fists hot, your head cool, and remember the basics.
The basics?
That jab he calls the Bullet is his lifeline.
He's got the distance and the timing nailed right now.
Focus on getting through that jab first.
To do that, I have to tighten my guard and keep moving.
Right, the basics!
You've completely taken control of the pace.
Just remember, Makunouchi can hang tough
for a long time, no matter how badly hurt he seems.
Take it nice and slow and keep piling on the damage.
Nobody likes a tough steak...
Huh?
I'm gonna take plenty of time...
until he's tender and tasty.
The Anti-Dempsey Perfected