He's mad. He's absolutely furious!
The enraged challenger throws out huge bombs!
He hangs on the ropes to avoid another down
just as round three ends!
Takamura-kun, gargle!
Catch your breath first!
Shut the hell up!
I'm fine!
You have a plan?
I do.
A Lesson Never Forgotten
It's round four.
The challenger charges right in!
Takamura, if you really are cut from the same cloth as Hawk,
then this round will be your last!
Eagle's definitely going to switch gears this round.
Throwing big swings from a distance is just begging to get countered!
Our best shot is...
Chase him down and force an infight!
Pin him with tight, fast combinations!
Just shut up! Don't worry about me!
No big swings! He'll just get you again!
Another counter! The champion is unflappable!
Here he comes!
Eagle's getting his punches together!
This is...
Where'd that huge swing come from?!
You're not playing baseball here!
What's he doing? How can he call that a plan?!
What're you swinging like a maniac for?!
The belt's on the line here! Fight like it!
All his bad habits are coming out at once.
Date-san!
If I were his second, he'd have taken years off my life.
Those huge swings are dangerous,
but I have to believe there's a greater purpose behind them.
I don't think Takamura-san will let it end like this, either.
Uh-oh! Takamura's lost his balance!
I finally caught you.
He didn't lose his balance. He fell into him on purpose!
You're not getting away from me.
The challenger lands a shattering body blow!
All those giant swings were to bring him close enough for that?
What a sharp combo.
This is the same guy who was just swinging so wide?
I can't survive fighting this close.
Gotta make some distance...
The champion's backed into a corner!
He's escaped into a dead end!
He saw that far ahead of his plan?!
You've got guts to punch me like that.
Now it's time to pay the price!
He spreads his arms out wide!
The stunned champ has nowhere to go!
Using wide swings to close in, and now this...
I've never fought against such bizzare strategies!
With his escape routes sealed, how will the champ react?
Oh, my! The challenger throws a double punch!
Pushing through the center? Gutsy choice.
He finally cornered him, and he's going to escape unharmed!
No. He's still executing his plan.
A thunderous liver blow thrown from point-blank range!
The champ's escape attempt fails! He's stuck firm in the corner!
Now it's clear.
A man who simply relies on instinct and violence
can't throw punches like that.
It takes a lower body fortified by an enormous amount of training!
This man is the strongest opponent I've ever faced.
Go, Takamura!
Get him!
Takamura! Takamura!
He connects!
I've gotta get out of here!
The challenger throws a huge combo!
He's really found his groove now!
Jesus!
An explosive right! The champ crumbles!
Is this the end?!
There's the bell! Round four is over!
So close!
He almost had him down!
Damn, that was too close!
Looks like your life's spared.
Well done! It's looking good for you!
I'm surprised. That was some plan!
I didn't put enough thought into it to call it a "plan."
But... you really outsmarted him.
I just...
remembered.
I dunno what you remembered, but it's clear you've settled down.
Keep your head clear and continue with what works.
Don't worry!
I'm not worried.
Get out there and take the damned belt!
Sure.
A few more seconds, and I'd have lost...
I lucked out.
It wasn't luck. Your hard work protected you.
No. I was spared...
Eagle...
My life was spared.
Well, that's fine.
I got a new lease on life.
I might as well use it to turn this around!
Round five. The fighters head to the center.
But there's no spring in the champ's step. He's still hurt!
He's charging straight for him! He wants to end it right now!
The quickest way to open a tight guard...
is this!
A massive uppercut splits his desperate guard down the center!
Now a straight right to the jaw!
Eagle!
He's down! The Golden Eagle is down!
One!
Two!
Three!
Get up, Eagle!
Get up!
Four!
Stay down, stay down, stay down!
Five!
The champion is motionless!
Yes!
Two weight classes conquered!
Six!
Noisy bastards.
Yeah, I nailed him good, but...
Seven!
Yeah...
I figured as much.
He's on his feet! The fight's not over yet!
Strong. You're incredibly strong, Mamoru Takamura!
But this is what I came here for.
I had success after success...
But eventually, the pressure to win got to be too much.
I fought every bout with the utmost care.
My boxing was focused only on ensuring victory.
Never once did I meet someone I considered a rival.
Someone against whom I could test my strength to its limits!
I've been waiting for that rival.
And now, I've finally found him.
I've waited so long for you, Mamoru Takamura!
Those eyes.
As long as there's a glimmer of light behind them,
he won't quit fighting or give up!
I hate eyes like his.
They remind me of the one guy who makes for the most annoying opponent!
It's a textbook one-two of the highest caliber,
but that's what makes it so scary!
That one-two took him through the amateur and pro circuits to the top of the world.
Those refined fundamentals are Eagle's greatest weapon!
Knock it off! These are hard to dodge!
Now he's fighting with the punches you practice all day.
He's a carbon copy of you. There's nothing more annoying!
Now I know how all your opponents must've felt,
looking into those maddeningly determined eyes that never quit!
Ippo, he's just like you!
A dual exchange!
Oh, no! He got his eye!
An unfortunate accident!
The challenger has a huge cut on his eyelid!
He's been wounded right as his big chance came.
This hurts in more ways than one!
Takamura-kun...
After all that...
How could this happen?
That's a lot of blood.
That eye's probably blind now.
This is bad... real bad.
Oh, relax.
This just makes for the perfect handicap.
He taunts the champion!
The challenger's tough attitude stands firm!
Blood's getting in his left eye.
That's gonna kill his depth perception.
Miyata-kun...
Don't look so scared. Date-san will notice.
But...
It's fine.
If he really did have a detached retina,
he'd never have lasted this long.
You're right...
But it doesn't change the fact that he's in a bind.
Focus.
Don't miss a single move he makes!
R-Right.
What's up? Why doesn't he attack?
What're you doing?! Go, Eagle!
Is he trying to recover from the knockdown?
You wish! A little blood's not gonna stop me!
Yes! He dodged!
Hang on. He's about to throw a right at the bad eye!
Damn! I can't see his right hand clearly!
He'll aim for the cut!
Protect your eye, Takamura!
The champ goes for a body blow!
The body?!
I don't believe it...
Now high, and low again!
Why doesn't he go for my eye?!
Eagle puts his body on the line and switches to an infight!
The challenger's face twists with pain as the body blows rain down!
His hands are full just protecting his face. His body's wide open!
The champ's so composed, it's scary.
I doubt that decision was made in composure.
If he backed off and used his one-twos, he'd have this done.
With his sight and perspective compromised, an infight only benefits Takamura.
Yet, why doesn't he aim for the cut?!
The challenger finally gives in and grabs him!
A rare clinch from Takamura!
Are you doing this on purpose?
Trying to prove you can win without targeting my eye?
H-He said something to him...
Takamura-san talked?
Now he shoves Eagle away!
You dare take me lightly?
This cut just gives me the perfect handicap!
Take me lightly and I'll kill you!
What huge swings!
A right body blow! He ignores the face!
He's a slave to his conscience!
You little punk!
The champ refuses to target the bad eye! He wants a clean fight!
What a gentleman!
That's a champ you can respect!
He's incredible. Not just anyone can do that.
Round five is over!
The champ's ferocious assault makes up for his down last round,
but the real story here is Takamura's wound!
How will it affect the rest of the fight?
Don't worry. We can stop the bleeding.
I don't like it.
Why fight up close? Why won't he target the cut?
Just cool it.
We should be grateful.
Grateful?
You want me to be grateful?!
The eye. Aim for the cut!
Stop dragging out the fight for fun!
Split that cut open, and you'll win by doctor stoppage.
Trading punches with him is much too risky!
I know that it's risky,
but that's why it matters.
Round six!
The challenger's face is clean and free of blood.
The bleeding has stopped!
Good luck, guys!
Takamura, keep it clean like the champ did for you!
Like he did for me?
You want me thank him for dragging this out?!
The champ rushes in close again!
You really think you can win without targeting my cut?
You're pissing me off, bastard!
A wide swing by the challenger!
Oh, no!
Their heads collide! The champ looks hurt!
Do that again, and you'll be penalized!
It wasn't on purpose.
The ref warns the challenger,
but this was clearly an accidental headbutt.
He's bleeding!
Now it's the champion whose eyelid is cut! Another terrible accident!
Oh my God.
I see. He's bleeding, huh?
Them's the breaks.
Half my field of vision is covered by a red curtain,
but now we're even.
All that's left is to duke it out!
My blind spot again?!
The champ's punches slow as he covers his eye!
Damn, that Takamura...
He's jumping into his blind spot.
And he's only aiming at his eye.
Don't think having the same wound
puts us on equal footing.
I'm gonna tear at that cut 'til it's twice as deep as mine.
I'll drown you in your own blood!
Damn, I can't see!
Left, left, left! He's trying to open the cut further!
The champ's whole front is covered in fresh blood!
No...
A demon... Takamura looks like a demon!
You dirty bum! What kind of man are you?!
You should learn from the champ's example!
No respect for you!
Listen to them boo... And he's the hometown fighter.
I can't blame them.
He's doing the exact opposite of the champ's sportsmanlike conduct.
Even you feel that way?
Normally, people would be cheering for him to go after the weak spot.
I-I suppose so...
The crowd's misinterpreting the reason Eagle didn't go for the eye.
Targeting weak points is how sporting works.
That's what a real pro would've done.
That one hurt!
The challenger lets loose with a right!
I didn't come here to test my might against you!
I never even gave a crap who you were.
All I care about...
is the belt!
The champ starts to go down!
A clinch! He holds on for dear life!
Get the hell off!
Break! Break it up!
That's the end of round six!
The champ managed to hold out!
Damn it!
That's one lucky bastard!
Don't talk. Let me see that cut!
He went for my cut without a second thought... Of course he did.
All he cares about is winning.
He's here to do his job, like a real boxer.
I'll finish him next round!
Sit still. I can't stop the bleeding!
But I won't lose.
I'll hit him with my best stuff and take him down.
On to round seven.
No blood on either forehead. The bleeding has stopped!
The two warriors charge as if to answer
the fine support of their cornermen!
Yeah, we stopped the bleeding,
but one good hit, and it'll be a waterfall again.
If he starts bleeding again, a doctor stop's more than possible.
We've gotta end this quick!
So now he's going for the cut?
His eyes... look different.
The champ steps up the tempo!
He's ready to throw down!
He's not aiming for the cut. He's hitting wherever he can!
He's going for broke and trying to end it!
Not gonna happen!
Victory...
will be mine!
And the challenger responds! It's a slugfest in the center of the ring!
A battle of wills! Neither man backs down!
What a fight! Yokohama Arena is on its feet!
The End of the Death Match