Congratulations on your hospital discharge.
Yes. I'm sorry I made you worry, Yagi-chan.
I'm a little uneasy concerning the Kid.
Chief...
In the end, I couldn't do anything for him.
I'm sure Ippo-kun will be fine.
While you were resting, in addition to his usual training...
he seemed to be coming up with lots of his own ideas.
We've been expecting you. Ponchai is already here.
He's already here.
I couldn't visualize him to the very end.
I wonder what he's like.
That's him.
That's him, isn't it? I'm surprised.
I imagined he'd be more rugged-Iooking.
You aren't inferior to him in ruggedness.
Boxers Ponchai and Makunouchi, we're ready to begin the weighing.
- Whoa. - Take a look at that.
Don't lose your nerve. Your own build isn't inferior to his.
Yes, sir.
It's all ready.
Thanks.
That's okay, but the match is tomorrow, right?
Wouldn't you be better off taking the night off?
Yeah.
Was your opponent that tough-looking?
Yeah, I think he's tough.
I don't think he'll be knocked down with just some strong punches.
Even with your punches?
It would probably take more than a single punch.
His stomach muscle is particularly impressive.
If he has stamina, he also has recuperative powers.
Even if I land a good punch, I'm afraid I may not finish him off then.
Hit before being hit!
Guarding as I attack and attacking as I guard.
A fighting style simultaneously combining the two.
The number of barrages I hit him with...
will be the key!
What did I just see?
It was somehow different from any of his moves up until now.
COMEBACK! Ippo MAKUNOUCHI 3rd in Featherweight VERSUS Ponchai Chuwatana from Thailand Tatsuya KIMURA 6th in Lightweight Masaru AOKI 7th in Lightweight
Froggie!
I'll cheer for you if you do something funny!
Go for it, Frog!
Oh, my! His opponent has a snake tattoo!
A frog can't beat a snake!
Things are suddenly looking bad...
for Kamogawa Gym's first comeback boxer.
Froggie!
Focal points and fighting order don't mean anything!
I'll be cheering for you as loud as I can...
so go on, do your best!
The snake suddenly went for it!
Run, Froggie!
What?!
Th-Those moves are brilliant.
I don't care if I am fighting a snake or whatever.
Right now, nothing can scare me!
I have something to protect!
D-Down!
He's tough!
Way to go, Frog!
The winner is Aoki!
Right on!
Well, that was dull.
I won. Now it's your turn!
Right!
It's true that when a man has something to protect...
he can put out more power than he's usually capable of.
At this moment, I understand that, Aoki, ol' pal.
Kimura-kun!
Yes, I understand... What?
Let's see you KO him!
Good luck!
Th-That's not even funny.
Room E
Aoki-san won. Kimura-san should be fighting right now.
When his match ends...
it's my turn.
Damn, I can't stop remembering it!
Calm down! Calm down!
I'm going to win! I WILL win!
What the? It sounds really wild out there.
I wonder if he already won.
Whoa, it's his second knockdown!
He's used up all his strikes!
Damn you!
You can do it, Kimura-san!
Keep going, Kimura!
If you have any pity, stop cheering for him as a couple!
God damn it!
He went in for another exchange!
You have to recuperate first!
Shut up! Nothing can scare me now!
Not only do I have nothing to protect...
I don't have anything to lose!
The winner is Kimura!
Thank goodness, Kimura-san.
He really had me worried.
- Way to go, Kimura-kun! - What a sad victory.
And now for today's main event...
the Featherweight class 10 round match.
So, it's finally time.
My first match in five months.
It feels like I haven't walked down this hall in years.
It sure is quiet. Maybe there was a small turnout.
It's unavoidable because I lost the last time.
I've been waiting for this, Makunouchi!
We came to see you!
It was lonely without you here!
One loss is nothing!
We're counting on you for another great knockout!
Listen to the cheers!
His popularity is still strong after his last match!
Now, will you make a comeback after a five month absence...
Ippo Makunouchi?!
I came back.
Everyone else has changed in the last five months...
but the mood inside the hall is still the best!
Now, Makunouchi has climbed into the ring!
This is his first comeback match since his first loss!
This will become the important tell-tale match!
You can do it. You can do it.
Please do it.
You're awfully absorbed in this.
Well, yeah. It's my friend's match.
Hey, are you acquainted with Ippo?
Yeah, I write for a boxing magazine.
Makunouchi-kun went in there looking confident, huh?
I can see how badly he wants to make his comeback with this match.
Well, yeah. I'm sure that factors into it, too.
It's like he's up to something this time...
like he's gonna attempt something different.
Something radically different.
Seconds out!
Listen! We have no idea how your opponent will attack!
Feel it out with your left and observe for the three minutes!
Yes, sir!
Now, the bell has finally rung!
The fighters stride toward the center of the ring.
From his pose, I sense an orthodox style.
I wonder what kind of boxing he'll do.
For now, I'll feel it out with my left.
Ponchai throws a sudden right!
He seizes the offensive, slapping away Makunouchi's hand!
What the...?! That's not gentlemanly!
Doesn't this guy even have a basic grasp of etiquette?!
Give it back to him, Makunouchi!
A highly-focused boxer can always respond...
to even the most sudden attacks.
It's not that Ippo doesn't have concentration.
The absence from the ring must've played a role.
He's terrifying to look at!
He's not the same person I weighed-in with!
Of course he isn't! He's a boxer!
Ippo-kun! Go around him! You need to establish distance!
What a hopeless guy. Looks like he needs a bit of a beating...
to remember he's a boxer.
At least he's finally looking the part.
That's the face of a boxer!
Go, Kid!
It's a wake-up call right punch from Makunouchi!
The power to burst right through guarded fists!
This... This is Ippo Makunouchi!
All right, let's do this!
It's a wake-up call right punch from Makunouchi!
The power to burst right through guarded fists!
This... This is Ippo Makunouchi!
All right, let's do this!
Makunouchi makes his move!
It's a vicious right punch you wouldn't expect from his baby face!
Ponchai is forced to retreat!
You won't get away!
A shoulder feint to quickly force him into the ropes.
That pressure is almost worthy of Tyson!
All right! At this point there's no need for observation!
Whale into him when you see your chance, Kid!
He throws a punch upwards!
I'm going for the dead center! This'll tell me just how tough he is!
A right!
His head swings big to the right!
I've felt this impact before.
What?! He's hitting back!
Holy cow! Didn't that punch hurt him?!
That boxer is tough!
You'd better watch out, Makunouchi!
The neck-twist smother! He has Date-level techniques!
Makunouchi retreats! Ponchai's punches are sharp!
He also packs dangerous punches!
One wrong move, and it'll be five months ago all over again!
Don't back down, you fool!
What did you learn in your fight with Date?!
He's right. In that fight...
I stuck close and fired small barrages!
It's an exchange of blows in the center of the ring!
Makunouchi fights back with a barrage!
His lower guard is soft! I'll aim for his body!
Good! His face is exposed!
A right uppercut! It's a clean hit!
I felt the impact from that punch! This will work!
Hey, Makunouchi's backed off!
Don't get scared, you moron!
Fight back!
What a guy.
We already knew he was tough, but that's impressive!
He's seriously tough.
But that's not what really scares me.
Those eyes...
I can see the sheer determination to win at any cost.
He has the same look in his eyes as they did!
And that ends Round One!
Ippo took this round.
Yeah, but he's not quite into his pace yet.
That Thai guy is powerful.
Ippo...
He doesn't show any fear of your big guns.
He's definitely a tough boxer! Getting drawn out a little is OK.
Score small punches without pressing needlessly for a KO.
What's wrong? Are you listening?
Uh, yes, sir.
Seconds out!
Don't lose your cool and swing wide! Pummel him little by little!
It's all right, Chief.
"All right?"
In the next round...
I will knock him down!
Wh-What did he say?
Yagi-chan, did he just say?
Yes. Without a doubt, he just promised us a KO.
Box!
Makunouchi goes in!
A right from Ponchai! Makunouchi barely dodges it!
Oh, no! Ponchai used a counter to block that left punch!
If it should come down to a simultaneous hit...
I suppose Ponchai has ultimate faith in his ability to take hits.
He's a brave boxer.
What's your plan, Kid?
Don't raise false hopes.
He goes in again!
Aw, watch out!
That's a little too pushy!
One false move and that range could be deadly.
No! This isn't the right timing!
Ponchai is completely into the rhythm!
Makunouchi dodges and dodges! He's devoted to defense!
Chief, he's taking it too far! It's dangerous!
Yeah, he's in trouble all right...
but I have a strange feeling of expectation.
He isn't the type of guy to announce a KO as a bluff.
That expression on the kid's face reeked of confidence.
He has something up his sleeve!
Something?! It looks like he's defending himself for dear life to me!
Oh, my! Makunouchi has begun to swing punches...
from either side as he weaves!
No! It has to be faster!
Shake your head!
Why, that's...
Shift of weight at high velocity!
Use the rebound from the swaying...
to throw punches from both sides!
This is it? Is this...
... the answer you thought up?
The blow of days past from the world of American boxing.
The Dempsey Roll!
Ponchai is down!
What an incredible concentration of hits!
Even his great toughness couldn't withstand the knockdown!
One!
Two!
Thr...
Wait! What is this?!
The referee has halted the countdown!
Ponchai is unable to continue!
The match is over!
I...
I did it!
Makunouchi explodes with big hits in an expectedly difficult battle!
He makes a flawless comeback from his five-month absence!
Ippo-kun!
Yagi-san!
That was an impressive KO with advance notice!
I was actually nervous about it!
It was my first time trying it out on a moving opponent...
but it worked!
So, you attempted the Dempsey Roll for the first time in a live match.
Pardon? Demp-what?
It's an old story.
So old that only people my age would remember it.
Anyway, look... they're waiting for you!
Uh, right.
Jack Dempsey?
The world champion who rocked America in the Twenties.
Dempsey, with his small stature in heavyweight...
used a technique to systematically KO giants in his weight class.
He would roll his head in a figure-eight orbiting motion...
and use the recoil to barrage with power blows.
You saw what the destructive power was like.
Wow. So that's why it's called the Dempsey Roll.
Anyway, I'm glad it worked out...
and he made his comeback okay!
Without further ado, please give us a final comment...
concerning your aspirations.
M-My aspirations?
Oh, gee. All I thought about was winning.
Speak up!
You won so you can talk big now, Makunouchi!
At least tell us you're gonna take down the champ!
Yeah, take Sendo down! You know, Sendo!
Yikes, it's Sendo!
I didn't see him there!
I'm sorry for speaking out of line!
It looks like the champ is in the north bleachers!
What?!
What the heck?
He's heading for the ring!
What are you up to, Sendo?!
H-He's got the microphone!
He's gonna call him out!
Makunouchi...
I owe you one, and I'm gonna make good on it!
I want a man-to-man showdown!
Sendo-san.
It's a proclamation of war!
He's been challenged by the champ!
What now, Makunouchi?
Say something back to him!
Makunouchi! Makunouchi! Makunouchi!
L-Let's do that, Sendo-san!
All right!
Sendo VS Makunouchi! I'll definitely be there for that!
Sendo-san.
Learn to mind what you say, you fool!
Uh, I... I'm sorry!
Oh, well. He's someone you have to fight sometime anyway.
- We're outta here. - Yes, sir!
Makunouchi, you really are tough!
Don't let Sendo beat you up!
I'll come watch again!
Makunouchi!
Thank you so much!
I'm back.
Thank you!
It really does feel great to win and walk back in full glory.
It's the best!
KO Time: 2nd Round, 2 Minutes, 0 Seconds. Ippo Makunouchi wins his comeback match 12 Matches, 11 Wins, 1 Loss, 11 KO's
I get up again
With my wounded body
Tomorrow's the only way to go
If that's the fate of the human race
I will grab tomorrow with my only hands
Even if I can't deal
With my long, long life
I don't want to mistake the place to live
With the place to die
I can't help myself
Dreaming the same dream
Curtain Raiser.
The first match that opens a boxing show.
Many fights unravel...
with most of the enthusiasm aimed at the final fight.
The first match leading up to the last.
Just like I started boxing when I met Takamura-san...
my seniors probably also had a climactic turning point!
The next episode is "Youth of Fire."