The poster for the world title match, huh?
I heard that tickets are selling well, too.
Oh Ippo, your opponent's been decided as well?
He's a Korean?
He's a foreign boxer positioned in 5th place in Japan, and I heard he's quite strong.
Don't fail right before Takamura-san's match.
Yeah, not like Kimura and Itagaki.
You make sure to get everyone in a good mood!
I-I'll try!
'sup!
Hey, the poster's lookin' good.
Takamura-san!
The more I look at it, the more I can see myself wearing the belt.
He's so optimistic and bold.
He's really dependable.
I'm counting on you to rule the world!
We'll cheer you with all we've got. OK?
But please don't fail at weight control like last time.
Even you'll have a hard time against Hawk unless you're in perfect condition.
Me have a hard time?!
But still, my condition last time was no good.
And yet, it's true that losing weight is no easy task.
So I thought...
of this!
If I shave off all of my heavy pubic hair, I should lose at least 10 kg.
Not even a few grams.
What a cheap idea.
Don't call it cheap!
That eyebrow reminds me of Bryan Hawk.
It does.
Why don't ya disguise yourself as Hawk and have Takamura-san get used to that face?
Sure, if I can be of any help.
But please don't shave too much.
It might be important to get used to the face.
W-Well...
The sizes of the left and the right...
don't match.
Shave the left a bit more.
N-Now the right side...
Like this?
N-Now the sizes match, but...
How's that?
Do I look like him?
Can I put some back?
He looks like Maro now.
What do you mean by "Maro"?
We can still fix them.
Fix here...
and...
Do I look like him?
I thought he might, but he's really done it!
How's this, Ippo?
I'm scared!
I look scarily like Hawk?!
Let's spar right now, then!
Think of me as Hawk!
As if I could!
Where are my eyebrows?!
What're you gonna do about them?!
Damn noise!
What the hell are you doing?!
Coach!
Takamura-san did this!
Who are you?
O-Oh, come on.
I don't know you.
It's me.
Damn Aoki! Don't scare me!
Damn geezer! Don't get heavy-handed as soon as you recognize me!
Hurry up and head out for road work!
This is no time to put on comedy shows!
I'm not!
I can't go out in public with this face!
I can't go out for road work!
Fine.
How's that?
They're laughing at them.
Quit bitching and go!
Curse you!
I said sorry!
And you've got manly brows!
By the way, I heard you stopped by my place last night?
Sis told me.
Oh yeah, we had a question for you.
A question?
Well, why do you keep boxing?
We wanted to know.
We all admir—
Ow! Ouch!
Were you just saying something?
Oh no!
That's so twisted!
There's only one reason why I keep boxing.
For proof that I'm the strongest.
Isn't that good enough?
That's so typical.
Yeah.
I wanted a more dramatic reason.
Shut up!
You'd never understand!
Here! Dry your sweat.
What's this about?
You weaklings probably can't even imagine the world stage,
but since you've all worked with me, I'll show you a dream.
I'll take your sweat with me to the world title match.
Takamura-san!
May I use the towel too?
Itagaki-kun! You're back!
We've been worried about you!
I didn't know how to come back.
But when such a major event like a world title match is coming up,
I thought it'd be too much of a waste not to be around.
Don't say anything.
Everything's okay as long as you're back.
Kimura-san! Aoki-sa—
You've got a clown face, Aoki!
You scared me!
What?! It's washable ink?!
Man, this is it.
These are the best places to be.
In the ring, and where they are.
There's no place more comfortable than these for me.
This is where I belong.
All right!
Now you're all here!
Come follow me!
Yes!
Don't make me laugh!
Follow me, scum!
I'll take you to the world!
Yes!
A-Are you okay?
Switch with me, Itagaki.
You're not good enough for Ippo's practice.
Dang it.
Take a break.
I'll show you how it's done.
Use your feet more.
Can't you outmaneuver him with speed?
Not at all.
He's way too fast when he dashes.
I get caught before I even start using my feet.
See?
Not bad.
T-Thanks.
Ippo's doing great with his match just three weeks away.
His third title defense won't be a problem.
Yeah.
The problem is...
Don't stop!
You're still far from the weight limit!
Sweat more!
Build up stamina while losing any excess!
G-God damn it!
That's really impressive, even during the weight control period.
Yes, for now.
But it'll get tougher from this point on.
Takamura-san usually weighs close to 90 kg.
90 kg?!
That's heavyweight!
He has to lose 20 kg to reach junior middleweight?!
He doesn't have a choice.
Heavier weight classes are so popular that Japanese boxers simply get ignored.
We've got to wait and wait, and take on any chance under any condition.
The ring Takamura-san lives in... it's in a world we can't even imagine.
Soup and fruit.
Is that all you need?
Yeah.
Thanks for everything.
Don't worry.
You do your job, Mamoru-chan.
Stop calling me Mamoru-chan.
Oh, trying to act tough?
You haven't changed at all, Kyo-nee.
Speaking of not changing, I met Suguru.
He hasn't changed at all, either.
He's very concerned about you, too.
How's Wataru doing?
Is he turning green from too much studying?
He's excited about cheering you on.
He says that he wants to see you wearing the belt.
Oh, yeah?
Tell him that I'll give him a ticket.
I'm going to get going.
Yeah, don't let the rest of the family get on your case.
No, it's just that this room is too warm for me.
Also, here.
Dried shiitake...
Chew on them slowly, and spit out the saliva.
It'll make you feel like you ate something, and you can lose liquid,
so it'll help you lose weight.
Bye.
Yeah.
It seems I can still lose more.
It's getting to the tough period.
Am I gaining any time?
Not at all.
Good job, for now.
Say you expected as much!
I've got a will of steel.
Weight control is harder than ever, perhaps because of the shorter interval than usual.
But he's such a great guy; he doesn't even show any negativity.
Hey, got any info on him?
I heard that he's hardly training at all.
But...
I know.
To each his own.
Right?
I'll keep my own style.
We don't want to regret not working enough on anything.
No, it's not about regret.
I just feel super comfortable being in the ring.
It makes me feel alive.
It's like it empowers me.
Yeah, boxing is keeping me alive.
And I can't take such an important thing lightly.
I want to be honest when it comes to boxing.
You...
Damn it!
What's that for, damn geezer?!
Don't talk so straight faced!
I wasn't ready for that.
Do you remember the first time we met?
I'll never forget.
You broke in when I was just starting to feel good.
I saved you before you got taken away by the police.
That day, I could already foresee you coming this far.
That this man would go for the world title.
I won't say you've got great foresight.
It's only expected when it comes to me.
Boasting already.
But you'll never know how I felt.
How excited I was when I picked up a jewel that I didn't need to polish.
He can go for the world.
The feeling became confidence when I saw his debut match.
This man will take me to the stage I once dreamt of.
You are my treasure.
What's up?
What is it?
I'm sorry.
You should have been able to challenge the world much sooner.
And you could have fought in your best class, in your best condition.
I have no power or money to schedule such a match.
It's all because of my powerlessness.
I'm—
Stop that now.
I don't want to see you bow down.
I really don't want to do this...
and I have no intention either.
But really... I'm the one...
If you hadn't taught me boxing, I'd have...
Whatever the case is, I was destined to be the world champion, but...
What are you trying to say?
My point is: it's all okay!
Junior middleweight?
Bring it on.
Win that belt, then start raising the classes one by one,
and by the time we win the heavyweight title, I'll be the ruler of six weight classes!
Well, I'll have no place for six belts,
so I'll give away this belt.
What?!
Christmas is coming up, so it'll be a perfect present.
B-But you just said you won't mock boxing!
Don't you want it?
I'll give you the very first world championship belt.
G-Get the belt before you say that.
I actually have a present for you, too.
What is it?
That's pretty cool.
Dried shiitake.
These will help you lose weight.
How thoughtful of you.
Takamura-san!
We were thinking...
if there was anything we could do to help you.
And this is about all we can do.
Dried shiitake!
Combo packs!
Here ya go!
Y-Yeah.
But what do they want me to do with so much shiitake?
Do they want me to lose all the water in me?
Want me to turn into a mummy?
Man, they're all such idiots.
Man...
Five more kilos...
The real work starts now.
His punches used to be so powerful...
The speed of his punches is dropping.
Yes.
He must be at the peak of exhaustion from the weight loss.
This is the toughest point.
His dry skin looks like it'll peel right off of him.
Nearly all liquid has been lost from his body.
He needs to shave down his body for the rest.
Before getting to the world title match, he must clear a task that's just as hard.
Damn...
I didn't lose any.
I worked so hard and didn't lose any.
Damn it!
It's the world title match I've been waiting for!
I won't let it all go to waste just because I failed to lose weight!
Takamura! Slow down!
Doing too much will work against you!
Quit bitching and hold out the mitts!
Take a break! Let your hands rest!
Shut the hell up!
Four more kilos...
I'm sorry, Kyo-nee.
I can't drink this either.
If I use my mouth, I'll feel like I've eaten.
I'm even out of saliva.
Takamura! Let your hands rest!
Resting your body is part of your training!
Takamura!
Don't touch me!
Just don't touch me.
Or else I don't know what I'll do.
He's getting edgy.
He might end up overworking.
That's dangerous.
Then I'll try some chit-chat to lift his spirits.
Takamura-san, I heard you have a pretty sister.
I finally see why a man like you still doesn't have a girlfriend.
Stay quiet and listen to this.
Shhh...
S-kon.
Sis-con!
Just kiddin'!
Oh my god!
He'll get killed!
O-Oh?
Was that not funny enough?
You just barely escaped death, idiot!
Normally, you'd have been killed in an instant.
This weight loss is a lot different than usual.
I don't go through weight control, so I don't know how it feels.
How does it feel mentally?
You start by getting irritable.
You get edgy as you get hungry.
For a week after starting weight loss, you really miss food.
You keep thinking about ramen, steak, curry...
Past that point, you stop thinking about food.
You start missing liquids after that.
First, you miss cola, juice, and everything else with flavor.
Those things fill your head.
In the end, water...
All you can think about is water.
By that time, it feels like you've lost all of your meat, and all of your nerves are exposed.
You can tell that you're getting extremely sensitive.
Sensitive...
So...
No way!
Yeah right.
Oh, come on.
I can't focus my mind away from them enough to sleep!
Water!
I want water!
Water!
We've never experienced extreme weight loss like Takamura-san.
The world beyond extreme...
I don't know what mental state a human goes through at that point.
You're past your limit, getting more and more sensitive...
Takamura-san is in a world we can't even imagine.
He'll be here any minute now.
Yeah.
There he is! The champion!
Bryan Hawk!
Ask him for a comment!
Two more kilos.
Mr. Hawk!
How's your condition, now that the match is a week away?
How do you feel now?
Why...
Why do I have to go through this pain?
Any comment or message for the challenger?
Please say something for the Japanese boxing fans.
I came to eat my favorite food.
That's all.
Why...
Is it you...
Is it all your fault?
I-I'll kill you!