danielhindman

** spoiler alert ** Ippo faces off in a spar against the featherweight champion, Date Eiji. Eiji uses him to practice one of his new attacks, a corkscrew punch aimed at the heart. When it hits Ippo, Ippo is briefly paralyzed and Eiji knocks him down. To Eiji's amazement, Ippo manages to get back up and continue. He hits Ippo with it again and Ippo rises from it for a second time. At the end of the match, Ippo finally loses consciousness, but amazes everyone with his stamina when he is able to happily run off after thanking Eiji for the experience. He then has a snack with Barf-michi. When his friend remarks on how strong he is, he tells him about how he too was bullied until he found something to dedicate himself to. The next day, he finds out that Keigo Okita, from Eiji's same boxing club and the number 5 featherweight, has invited him to a match. Ippo's new goal has become fighting Eiji for real, so he says he wants to accept the match. We find out that Okita, as a great admirer of Eiji, was hurt that Eiji chose Ippo instead of himself for practicing his heart punch. At their match, it turns out that Ippo has gained a large number of followers. He manages to win despite Okita's Eiji-inspired style, becoming the 5th ranked featherweight in the country.

2022-09-17 13:26