Dad, any reply from Kamogawa Gym?
This will be your second appearance at the Champion Carnival. Any comments about it?
How many times do you think you'll defend the title?
W-Well...
What about after you fend off the first place boxer?
Will you go for a higher rank?
Well, I'm not really thinking about what I'm after or how many times I'll defend the title or anything.
You know... I'm just taking it one match at a time.
Then, what about the boxer you most want to fight right now?
What? The most?
Well...
I guess that's the next opponent.
He's always like that.
Man, the article will be tame once again.
Idiot!
Tell them that you want to fight against Ricardo Martinez!
You're a pro, so give them a sweet word or two!
Like saying you'll defend the title a hundred times!
That's impossible!
So.
We at Kamogawa Gym have many matches this spring.
We have Ippo-kun's title defense and Aoki-kun's challenge at the Champion Carnival,
Itagaki-kun's Rookie King tournament, and Takamura-kun's first defense of the world championship title.
That's quite a few.
We'll assume that I'll meet expectations.
Let's do our best, Senpai.
Yeah.
What's wrong, Aoki?
I must be having hearing problems.
You're scratching them so much you're bleeding.
But I heard something about me challenging the title.
Maybe my semicircular canals are rotten.
I really said it.
You'll be challenging the title for the first time at the Champion Carnival.
I thought the first place holder gets to challenge at the Champion Carnival!
And you're in fifth place!
How come you're getting lucky?!
Damn, Aoki is somehow listed as first place.
Why?
You didn't know?
The boxer in first place is hospitalized from a traffic accident.
The second place boxer is hospitalized too, for appendicitis.
The third place retired, and the fourth place lost and fell in the ranking.
So...
Damn lucky.
Did you put a curse on them?
Yeah!
The day I become the champion is here!
Finally!
I'll be joining you two.
Tomiko! I'm going to be the champion!
Damn you!
Kimura-san! Settle down!
I'll get the Japanese title!
I'll be the Rookie Champion!
This place sure did heat up quickly.
Don't just stand there!
You have a title defense coming up too!
Right!
My fourth defense.
I keep on defending the title...
But then what?
Is defending the belt my goal?
No.
Right now, what am I going after?
Wanpo!
Did you come to get me?
It was snowing that day too.
And here...
What's the matter, Wanpo?
M-Miyata-kun!
Why?!
Why are you here?
Do you remember our conversation here?
Y-Yeah.
I told you that I was going overseas to bridge the gap between us.
And I think I've done my job.
But...
Wh-What?
Why are you so—
Is the Oriental title not enough?!
Are you telling me that there's still a gap between us?!
Wh-What?
I don't understand.
You're the OPBF champion.
You're ranked much higher than me—
Don't play dumb!
The reporters told me.
When one asked you who you wanted to fight, you answered, "the next opponent."
You keep ignoring me!
I don't know what you're talking about!
Tell me what's going on!
I'm the one who wants an explanation.
Since I won the OPBF title, I've submitted the challenge to Kamogawa Gym numerous times.
Why do you never respond to them?!
How long are you going to ignore me?!
You didn't know?
I see.
I'm the one who said we should finish our fight in the ring as pros.
I dumped the deal on you.
But I still consider it a promise.
Why?!
We kept ignoring the challenges from Miyata-kun, the Oriental champion!
It's like we've been avoiding them!
Calm down, Ippo-kun.
I don't want to avoid him!
Miyata-kun has always been my goal.
Don't get cocky, Kid!
I know that you want to accept the challenge from Miyata now that he's returned from training overseas.
And I admit that you've grown stronger while having him as your rival.
And you now have your finishing blow, the Dempsey roll, which has become your trademark move.
Then-!
It's still not going to work!
You're right that I avoided him.
No matter how many times I simulate the match, it's not a pretty picture.
Miyata didn't just bridge the gap between you.
The positions have flipped, and the gap has widened.
And that gap is huge.
The gap widened?
The gap between Miyata-kun and I is that big?
It's not like you to be scared of the result!
I want to fight him!
It's my dream to fight him in the ring as a pro!
You know very well that he doesn't avoid matches without reason.
Become stronger!
Become so much stronger that Coach approves, then-
How much?
How much stronger do I need to be?
How many times do I need to defend the title?
What will make you let me fight Miyata-kun?
Right now...
Right now is my chance to fight him in my best condition.
You're at your peak right now?!
You're that satisfied with your current condition?!
There's no future for a man who doesn't set higher goals!
To hell with a match against Miyata!
It's just a pipedream at this rate!
I'll show you.
I'll get stronger.
Please promise me that when I do that...
I'll make it happen, be it a Miyata fight or a world title match.
Please.
We couldn't tell him about the difference between their weapons.
The Dempsey roll is a weapon he built alone through blood and sweat.
It's the weapon that gave him back his confidence after losing it when he lost to Date.
It's a last resort, giving him peace of mind by having something to aim for.
And that very Dempsey roll will be his worst weakness when it comes to a match against Miyata.
I couldn't tell him something like that.
But to all challengers, overcoming Makunouchi Ippo will mean overcoming the Dempsey roll.
Everyone will take their turn at attempting to overcome it.
Eventually, Ippo-kun will realize that fact too.
He will face that cruel truth each time he goes through a title defense match.
I've got to do it.
I've got to.
That's pathetic, Itagaki.
I'll step in.
Thank you.
Senpai is especially tough today.
I know he's a boxing geek who doesn't know how to go easy, but he's going too far.
Damn, I can't hit him.
I wonder what happened to him?
He's focused like a real match.
The thing is...
I see, Miyata's involved.
No wonder he's getting serious.
But I don't get it.
Is there as big of a gap as Coach said?
I think they'll put up a good fight too.
They don't have a gap.
But I don't know about a good fight.
He used the Dempsey roll during practice!
Are you all right, Kimura-san?!
Kimura-san!
D-Don't worry.
Anyway, that's one hell of a blow.
Yes, I have this.
I have the Dempsey roll.
I'll polish it more and more, and become stronger than anyone out there!
To polish up the Dempsey roll...
To do that, I need to work on my advancing speed, the speed of swaying my head, and the speed of swinging my body.
No matter how quickly the opponent can move around, I will catch up!
And once I catch up, I'll never let him slip by!
Hey Ippo!
Dinner is ready!
Oh, okay.
You're practicing that everyday now.
I only know how to advance,
so I need to find a way to advance forward and put on more pressure.
Your destructive power is threat enough.
If you polish up your Dempsey roll, no one will be able to match your finishing blow.
I hope so.
I need to rely on the Dempsey roll in the end, so I want to eliminate any anxiety.
I want to make it more dependable.
That studiousness puts the worst pressure on your friends.
Oh yeah, speaking of the Dempsey roll...
Isn't he your next challenger?
He sure says some cocky things.
We finally have a challenger who claims to be able to overcome the Dempsey roll.
Even if we fend him off, I'm sure more will follow.
And what if he overcomes it?
The kid will lose his last resort.
There is no greater damage he can suffer.
To have the Dempsey roll deemed powerless...
The kid knows best what that means.
Perhaps he already feels cornered.
I only have this.
If he claims that he can overcome it, I need to make it so powerful that he can't!
What?
An improved form of the Dempsey roll?
Yes!
I've been thinking about it a lot.
How cocky.
So, what is it like?
It's about speed.
I'm increasing the speed of the turns.
I've been practicing speeding up the Dempsey roll.
Let me see it.
Yes!
What's happening?
Supposedly, it's a faster version of the Dempsey roll.
That's crazy.
I never want to be hit by that.
Good! It's looking good!
Stop it.
This is totally useless.
Hey, was there anything bad about that?
No, it actually looked awesome.
It's light.
Your Dempsey roll is not something this old arm can stop so easily.
You focused too much on speed and that made your punches light.
Your strength is in the destructive power.
And a rush of such punches puts your opponent under huge pressure.
My punches got lighter?
But the idea of increasing the speed was good.
However, it's useless unless you can put both speed and power into it.
Yes, speed and power.
From this point on, we will work on powering up your Dempsey roll.
Yes, please!
I'll go harder on you than ever before.
Be prepared.
I'll prepare myself too.
Okay?
Speeding up the Dempsey roll?
Yeah.
So, Ippo-kun was thinking a lot about it.
But without my permission.
But still...
But, you know...
He thought of it on his own, and practiced a lot.
It's not a bad feeling.
He should just admit that it makes him happy.
But still...
I've always thought about powering up the Dempsey roll too.
And I've always been hesitant about it.
Because, when he faces the boxers trained in modern boxing theory, like Miyata Ichiro,
the Dempsey roll will become his greatest weakness.
Yes, the Dempsey roll's weak point is...
It's weak against counter blows.
In it, powerful blows come at you from both sides like a pendulum.
But because of its simple pattern, it's very easy to measure the timing.
As the power and speed in that pendulum increases, the power of the counter blow will increase as well.
To a highly trained counter puncher, there is no better blow.
I see.
No wonder the Kamogawa camp is avoiding a match against you.
Makunouchi sure has an ironic weapon;
the more he strengthens it, the weaker he becomes against you.
In modern boxing, you use jabs as your base and stop the opponent's movement using speed.
But ever since the kid learned the Dempsey roll, he hardly ever uses jabs anymore.
He's moving further away from modern boxing style.
Just like how the Dempsey roll was forgotten as time passed,
the kid may follow the same path.
But his eyes were only looking ahead.
That blew away any worries I had.
I went to see him in a rush, but perhaps it's not the right time for our match.
But he's the type who uses disadvantages to build his power.
The Dempsey roll will change.
I can feel it somehow.
I've made up my mind too.
Will we be forgotten from history just like the Dempsey roll?
I'll go against history.
From this point on, we'll be challenging, not defending!
I'll slam a challenge against modern boxing.
They lost their anxiety.
Kick the ground harder!
Yes!
Faster!
Yes!
They're only looking forward.
They are indeed challengers.
I will take the torch Date-san passed on to me,
and I will keep running,
so I can keep the promise.
Faster than ever.
Stronger than ever!