Class-A Tournament - Part 2
"Senpai!"
"Yo! Over here!"
"Takamura-san! Yamada-kun!" It'd taken Ippo longer to get to the audience stands from backstage than he'd expected. There'd been an...unfortunate accident with his zipper. He remembered doing the same thing in the past, but after a different fight. Ippo prayed that such things weren't up to fate.
"You missed it Ippo."
"What?"
"Sendou knocked out Suzuki in less than two minutes."
"Really?"
"It was pretty impressive." Ippo heard a familiar voice coming from behind Takamura. "But, you showed me one hell of a fight also."
"Date-san!"
"It looks like I'll be fighting a strong opponent one way or the other. However, we aren't enemies yet, so I'll just say 'Congratulations'."
"T-Thank you Sir!"
"At any rate, I've seen what I came here to watch so I'll be heading out. Some of us can't party all night anymore." Date was grinning and nudging Takamura in the stomach. He then gave a short wave and walked off.
"The champion sure is impressive."
"You're right Yamada-kun. He's really strong!"
"T-Takamura-san was saying we're going to a karaoke club tonight if Aoki-san and Kimura-san win!"
"If they don't win then we'll go somewhere else to have fun. Just 'cause they're losers isn't any reason to not celebrate Ippo's victory!" As usual Takamura was taking great delight in the prospect of tormenting his two oldest kouhais.
"I'm sure Aoki-san and Kimura-san will win! Karaoke sounds like fun! Have you ever been Yamada-kun?"
"N-No..."
"Then lets be sure to have a great time!" That was right. It was right around this time that Yamada-kun had left before. Ippo swore to himself that he'd make sure his kouhai had a wonderful night.
"Thank you for everything." Yamada bowed to Kamogawa-sensei. Today was his final day. He'd helped his mother pack last night, so all that was left was to say good-bye to his trainers. His friends wouldn't be here since they had matches last night, but that would make things easier.
"Right. Take care."
"Yamada-kun, everyone is waiting for you downstairs."
"What? Isn't everyone taking the day off..."
"It's your farewell party." Yagi-san was smiling.
"F-Farewell party? So everyone knows about me moving away..." And they were actually giving him a party?
"They should be just about ready now. Come on, get going!"
"S-Sir!" Yamada hadn't wanted to tell his friends he was moving. He'd thought that seeing them would be too hard, but now that he was going to say one last goodbye he felt excited. Last night had been wonderful, the best last-memory that he could've hoped for. His senpai had even sung the first song at the karaoke club. Yamada had expected that he'd have to stand up in front of everybody first since he had the least seniority. Instead Ippo had seemed to go out of his way to make him relaxed. It was exactly the type of thing his senpai always did. "Sorry! Thanks for waiting!" Yamada felt the smile come to his face as he rounded the corner of the stairwell.
"Finally!" Takamura, Aoki, Kimura, and Ippo were in the boxing ring. There wasn't any cake or confetti. "We've already warmed up, so hurry up and get changed."
"Isn't this a farewell party...?"
"It is! But, Kamogawa-style!"
"You know the 100 man spar in karate right? It's basically the same thing. You'll spar with us one at a time." "It has a lot more meaning than normal farewell parties. The memories are much heavier because you get them engraved into your body." Kimura and Aoki explained what Takamura had meant by 'Kamogawa-style'.
"We'll be your 4 opponents. So get dressed and enter the ring Yamada-kun."
"Thank you so much. I'll never forget this!" This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him.
"It won't mean anything if we aren't serious. So it'll be tough." Uhm... Could he really spar against his senpais if they were serious? Yamada quickly went to the locker room to change.
"S-Senpai!" Ippo had come running in.
"I'll be your second for the first 3 rounds! Don't worry! You've really grown strong Yamada-kun!"
"I'll give it everything! I don't want to be forgotten either." Yamada put on his head-gear and entered the ring.
"That's the spirit! Focus on defense at the beginning though."
"You ready for me?!" His first opponent was Takamura? That...that...wasn't remotely fair.
"W-Well, start with trying to withstand one punch?" Senpai's advice seemed a bit optimistic. "A-Anyways, do your best Yamada-kun!"
Yamada wasn't sure how many punches he'd taken. One second he was approaching the national champion, and the next he was flung backwards. If he had to guess, it was a single hook or straight that'd knocked him down.
"Thank you very much!"
"I'm next!" Aoki had entered the ring.
"OK! Against Aoki-san constantly attack. If you let up you'll be drawn into his pace! He's unorthodox, so trying to predict what he'll do won't work."
"Y-Yes!"
He lasted longer against Aoki. A sudden back step of the older boxer was followed by him extending his left arm to the side. Yamada didn't know what kind of punch that could signal, until Aoki's right took him in the head. After that, maintaing the pace proved impossible and he was knocked down after a few more seconds.
"Kimura-san is a traditional out boxer. Get in close. Don't let him dictate the distance!"
"Y*heh*Yes."
Yamada felt he was doing a decent job against Kimura. He managed to get close and throw some punches. They were blocked, but he was slowly pressing forward and keeping Kimura from gaining distance. In the end, a counter had took him out and ended the 3rd of his good-bye matches.
"S-Senpai?" Ippo wasn't in the corner anymore.
"Come on Yamada-kun. Let's have a good match." At the other end of the ring Ippo had put on some training gloves.
"Y-Yes!" This would be his last spar with Senpai. His last chance to be useful.
The two boxers had adopted identical peek-a-boo styles, but when Yamada lowered his into a more aggressive stance that could throw a smash, Ippo followed. It was time to show him the results of all his training. His smash was countered, and then Ippo dashed in. Yamada couldn't hit him, even at such a close range because of the weaving. A right jab was ducked under, and Ippo had moved into his space. There wasn't any way to dodge or block. The liver blow hit, and it felt like his stomach had been blasted from his body.
The next thing Yamada knew, he was bent over on the mat with a metal bucket in front of him. An unpleasant odor wafted up from what he could only assume was his vomit.
"E-Excuse me." Yamada made his way to the showers. As he sat with the water running over his body, he felt the swelling and bruises that were already forming. The one Takamura had given him. The one from Aoki. The one from Kimura. The largest and most painful of them all was on his right side, below his rib cage. The final liver blow from his first real senpai. Yamada didn't know when he started crying, the shower made the tears hard to notice, but the short sobbing breaths just came out. He'd really miss it here.
Ippo didn't have to fight in the next round of the tournament. Due to the way that the slots had been decided, he'd be fighting in the finals verses either Volg-san or Sendou-san. Aoki and Kimura did have matches in this round. Last time they'd come so close to winning, only to have victory slip from their grasps. Ippo still needed to train his legs to withstand the strain the Dempsey Roll put on them, but he wanted to help his senpais however he could.
At Takamura's he'd gotten the fight tapes for their opponents. Trying to mimic their styles to help Aoki and Kimura spar may or may not have wound up being helpful before. Ippo felt more confident in his general boxing knowledge and skill now. He also didn't have any better ideas for how to be useful. Kimura's opponent liked to throw power punches. Ippo used a wider motion rather than his normal compact swings. Aoki's opponent was more of an orthodox out-boxer. Ippo still couldn't out-box well, but he could take a greater distance against Aoki.
Ippo wouldn't know how'd they do until after their matches. The bout between Sendou and Volg was happening first. The announcer was almost as excited as the crowd. It really was like a wolf vs. a tiger. Even from his seat in the back row, Ippo could feel the intensity of the two boxers. They circled one another in the ring. They had almost the same reach, and both were hard punchers. Getting into range to hit would mean that you were in range also. Since both could throw a one-hit punch, it was unsurprisingly tense.
Sendou made the first move. He threw a jab, but put his weight behind it so it was more like a straight. Volg ducked to the side. If he was intimidated by the power Sendou'd just displayed, he didn't show it. Instead he returned fire with a long upper from his crouch. Sendou stepped back to avoid the hit, but his backwards momentum only lasted an instant. With surprising speed, Sendou advanced while throwing a flurry of blows. Volg dodged and blocked them all, and then retaliated with a straight of his own. It connected cleanly and Sendou was forced back. Volg pressed his advantage and drove Sendou to the ropes. The Naniwa Tiger was pinned and was taking several clean blows. In the middle of being hit, he threw a smash. Even though he couldn't have seen where Volg was, the smash connected cleanly. Ippo cringed. He knew the power behind Sendou's sunday-punch first hand.
Volg was driven back. Sendou was starting to get his rhythm, and when Volg ducked under another straight Sendou connected with another smash. Volg staggered back, but he didn't fall. Ippo didn't know that Volg was that tough. The two boxers met in the center of the ring, only to be separated by the referee when the bell rang. Ippo could barely contain himself. This was an amazing match! Watching both Sendou and Volg made him afraid, but somehow envious.
"They're both doing well." Takamura commented from behind him.
"Yeah, they're both amazing. I can't see either of them losing."
"I think Volg has the advantage right now. He took a few of Sendou's best and stayed standing. This fight won't be decided with a lucky punch."
"Volg-san is really impressive, but so is Sendou-san..."
The 2nd round started with Sendou taking the offense. Volg avoided his attacks, and connected with his retaliatory punch. The Russian boxer drove Sendou back to the corner, but even while being attacked, Sendou's punches were alive. Volg threw a hook, but even as it connected Sendou hit back with a body-blow. His offense was short-lived though, Volg recovered and regained his tempo. This back and forth lasted through the 4th round. Volg was landing far more punches than Sendou, but the Naniwa Tiger had scored several of his own. Once in both the 3rd round and the 4th Sendou had been knocked down. Both times this had resulted from a White Fang. Volg had used his combo a few other times, every one of which had done serious damage to Sendou. At the end of the 4th round Sendou connected with another body-blow, this time Volg didn't recover as quickly as he had in the first few rounds. The smash that followed knocked The Wolf down. It was the first down of the match for Volg, and Ippo was surprised. The Russian boxer had been dominating the fight so far. Volg got to his feet at the count of 8, and the bell signaled the end of the round before the fight could continue.
"It's not surprising that Volg-san was the Amateur World Champion."
"You think so? They don't in-fight in the Amateurs much."
"Really?"
"Yeah, since a knockdown is only worth as many points as a clean hit, not many boxers aim for KOs. I wonder if this is the way a person who's had more than 200 amateur matches fights." Takamura had furrowed his brow.
"What's wrong."
"I was just thinking. Volg hasn't had many professional bouts. He may have the stamina to go for 10 rounds against an out-boxer, but verses someone like Sendou... Do you think he had experience in fighting a long time while taking such strong blows?"
"T-Then that down?"
"Yeah. I think Volg might be running out of stamina at this point. Sendou still looks pretty fresh, so we might have just seen the turning point of the match."
The 5th round proved the truth of Takamura's words. Volg took the initiative, but the first body blow that Sendou landed took the wind out of his sails. It soon resulted in another knockdown. After that, the momentum was on Sendou's side. Even though they weren't in Okinawa the crowd was chanting for the Japanese fighter. Volg landed a White Fang and reversed the momentum, but in the end it wasn't enough. A series of smashes from the Naniwa Tiger brought The Wolf to the ground. This time Volg couldn't get up. The match was Sendou's.
The crowd went berserk. The noise was overwhelming. In the center of the ring Sendou scanned the audience. His eyes stopped at Ippo. He was so far away, but Ippo knew Sendou was looking right at him. The two of them would be fighting in the finals. After a few seconds Sendou nodded, then turned and left the ring. The cheering died down after that and the next match started. It was Kimura's turn. Unfortunately history seemed to repeat itself. For 10 rounds Kimura fought, but in the end the decision was a draw. Ippo's senpai didn't have enough stamina for the final round and lost. Aoki was also beaten. The match had gone exactly as it had before: his frog punch was anticipated. After being floored, Aoki had managed to turn the match into a slug-fest, but the damage he'd accumulated was too much. It was strange to come down from the high of seeing such great boxers as Volg and Sendou fight, knowing that he'd be going up against the winner, only to watch his senpais, his friends try so hard, but ultimately fail in their goal. Ippo felt very somber on his way home.
Kumi walked down the street with her friend Tomiko. It was a Wednesday, but the two of them had the day off. She'd met the older woman at the hospital, and the two of them got along pretty well. Working at the hospital meant long shifts and strange hours. She still got two days off a week, but when those days were she generally wouldn't know until the last moment. This week the two of them shared a day off, so Tomiko-san had wanted to do something together. When Kumi mentioned that she had planned on going to the pool to visit Ippo-san Tomiko seemed very excited.
"So I finally get to meet the professional boxer that Kumi-chan has for a boyfriend. Your brother's a boxer too right?"
"Yep. Both of them are in a tournament right now and working hard, so I'd thought I'd visit Ippo-san today and cheer him on."
"Why is he taking time off to swim?"
"Oh, he's there for training. Something with swimming helping the muscles he wants to improve. Also, the water resistance improves the effectiveness of some of his other exercises."
"So do lots of boxers swim?"
"Sorry, I don't really know. Ippo-san has been doing it for a little while now, but Ryou-nii-san doesn't even know how to swim."
"From Kumi-chan's point of view 50% of boxers do it eh? *hee*hee*hee*" Tomiko giggled, but she did have a point. Kumi didn't know if this was a usual training method or not. "Do you think there will be any OTHER boxers there?"
"We're almost there, so I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Kumi smiled. The older nurse seemed excited about the possibility of meeting a boxer.
The couple turned the corner and found the entrance to the swimming club. Admission cost a few hundred yen, but Kumi and Ryou were doing better financially now that she was a full-time nurse rather than an intern. So they could afford it. Ryou still scrimped and saved every yen he could get his hands on, but this was less than the price of a meal so Kumi didn't feel that wasteful.
"Oh! Is that Ippo over there? I didn't think he'd be that tall. Or have such a daring haircut!"
"No, that's not him. That guy isn't even swimming. I wonder why he's here."
"I bet I know..." Tomiko had a knowing look in her eye as she glanced at the tall man with the pompadour.
The water in front of the out of place man suddenly exploded. Three people jumped out straight up, then ducked back underneath the water. A few seconds later they repeated that same move. Kumi noticed that the one of them was Ippo-san, even though he was wearing a water cap that covered up his usually messy hair.
"Let's go get changed. We'll surprise him." Tomiko nodded her accent. The two of them went to the changing room and emerged a few minutes later. The swimsuit that Tomiko had chosen was...daring. Her friend was well-endowed and liked to flaunt that fact.
"Hey there. What are you doing in this place?" Tomiko also was so much braver. Going right up the the tall stranger.
"Huh? Oh! Well I'm here *gah!*" The pompadour man's expression had gone from surprise to animalistic to surprise again as he turned around and his gaze traveled upwards until it rested on Tomiko's face. He quickly turned his head and motioned at the water. "I'm with those guys."
"Oh? So you know Ippo-san?"
"Eh? Hey! It's Mashiba's little sister. Here to see Ippo I bet!"
"I'm sorry have we met?" Kumi didn't recognize this person, but he seemed to know her and Ippo.
"GAH-HA-HA-HA! I'm Ippo's senpai! I taught him everything he knows about boxing!"
"So you're a boxer?" Tomiko had gotten close to him.
"*Gah!* I mean...yeah...but so are those two! Let me introduce you! Ippo! Aoki! Kimura!"
"What is it Takumura?"
"Get up here. We have some visitors."
The three boxers climbed out of the water. Ippo looked at her, but then he quickly turned his head. He was breathing heavily from the exercise, but Kumi thought she saw his cheeks redden. How cute!
"Hi Ippo-san! I hope you don't mind that I dropped in. I brought my friend from work."
"N-Not at all! I'm glad to see you Kumi-san! T-That s-s-swim-s-suit if very nice!"
"Thank you!" It was a pretty plain one-piece, nothing like Tomiko's suit. It was very sweet of Ippo to compliment it. "It's very sweet of you to say!"
"So this is the girlfriend. You're Mashiba's little sister right?"
"Yes?"
"Say, do you think you could talk to him about going up another weight class?"
"Kimura! I don't want that monst...Mashiba in my weight class!"
"So all three of you are boxers?" Kumi could swear she saw stars in Tomiko's eyes.
"That's right! I'm Aoki Masaru!"
"My name's Tomiko. It's nice to meet you!" Aoki and Tomiko had started moving away from the group chatting happily.
"Let's give thanks for Aoki's bizarre tastes." The one named Takamura bowed his head and put his hands together, like he was giving a short prayer as an offering. Kumi wondered what he meant.
"Hey Ippo, why don't we all go and get something to eat? It'll be fun."
"But we aren't done yet Kimura! We've only done 93 squats so far, we still have more than a 100 to go!" Ippo was doing that many? Kumi found her eyes going up and down his body. He was a really strong and dedicated person.
"Tomiko and I just got here. So why don't you continue your training while we swim for a bit? Lunch after that sounds wonderful. I'm sure Tomiko will agree." Meeting Ippo's friends would be great if they were anything like he boyfriend. Tomiko wouldn't mind either.
"OK Kumi-san! We'll leave when you're ready!" Kumi nodded.
Tomiko didn't want to stop talking with Aoki, but when Kumi told her they'd all be going out to eat later she seemed quite agreeable. In the back of her head Kumi kept track of the rhythmic splashes that signified another set of squats. When they'd done one hundred and seven more she went over to Ippo. The lunch afterwards was very nice. He had such wonderful friends. Tomiko kept going on about Aoki as they walked back to the station after eating. Kumi wondered if her friend might be getting a boyfriend of her own soon.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo
*Thunk* The medicine ball struck Sendou's stomach again. He gritted his teeth and tried to fight the nausea that accompanied the blow. This kind of training may have been necessary, but it wasn't any fun. Coming up with his new punches, that he had enjoyed, but this exercise was just boring. It was also fairly painful, but he wouldn't complain about something like that. Being to withstand Makunochi's left body-blow was surely going to come into play in their match. It was a punch that Ippo always threw. If Sendou had the talent as a counter-puncher that Ryuuhei did, then he might not have to plan on taking the hit. His friend had good enough timing to predict and avoid even a close-range punch like that.
*Thunk* His coach wouldn't hit him as hard as he'd like too. From watching Makunochi's fight tapes he knew that his next opponent was fully capable of cracking ribs with a punch. Seriously injuring himself wouldn't help any, so he had to be content with practicing withstanding weaker blows.
*Thunk* Ippo's KO pattern was pretty consistent. A left body blow followed by a right over-hand. The two punches always came together, when the first connected. If he was going to bait Makunochi into throwing that overhand he couldn't block or avoid the body-blow. Like Rocky Marciano, he'd win by being tougher. Take a punch so he could return one.
*Thunk* Ok, that last one hurt. All the more reason to practice. Especially since his smash was the perfect counter to the following over-hand. He'd been anticipating this match for almost a year now! It was a long time to wait, but he'd have his rematch.
*Thunk* Sendou would take Makunochi's best shot, and then attack back. That was how real men fought, and he was determined that this upcoming fight not end in anything other than a knockout. A real one.
"We will now have the Class-A tournament's Feather Weight final match! Scheduled for 10 rounds! It's a rematch between Makunochi Ippo and Sendou Takeshi! These two boxers previously met in the finals for the Rookie King Tournament! Will history repeat itself with a Makunochi win? Or will Sendou emerge victorious!?"
"In the red corner, from the Naniwa Boxing Gym, weighing 125 and 1 quarter pounds: The Naniwa Tiger: Sendooooooooooooou TA-KE-SHI!"
"His opponent, in the blue corner, from the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, weighing 125 pounds even: The man with the Dynamite Punch: Makunoooooooooochi IPPO!"
"One of the most anticipated fights of the entire tournament is about to take place!"
At the sound of the bell, Sendou left his corner. Ippo had charged out at their previous match, but this time the smaller fighter was approaching at a controlled pace also. The two of them met in the center of the ring. Sendou had a lower guard - an aggressive stance. Ippo was in his peek-a-boo style and was slightly swaying to the left and right. Now was the time. He'd show Makunochi just how strong he was. A jab. Proof of his power. Ippo increased the speed of his sway and the punch hit nothing but air. An immediate left jab came flying back. Sendou knew how fast and strong Makunochi's punches were already. The sound of the jab impacting his guard rang out.
With that, Sendou started his offense in earnest. No more jabs. A powerful hook blew over Ippo's head. Sendou's attack was furious, but Ippo's defense didn't falter. Again and again he threw a powerful punch, only to have it barely miss it's mark. Ippo was relying on swaying and jabs - a weak attack. As the round continued Sendou was becoming more and more agitated. His feints were completely ineffective. Ippo managed to dodge or block everything, but at the cost of only throwing an occasional jab. Was Makunochi not going to use any real punches? His answer came when another of his hooks barely missed. Suddenly Ippo moved from medium to close range. Sendou blocked the body blow that followed, but a hook connected. The fight had suddenly turned into a hitting match. Ippo was throwing powerful punches, and all of them were hitting cleanly. On the 3rd body shot Sendou threw one of his own.
*Thud*
The two punches landed simultaneously.
*Thud*
Again they connected at the same time. If it meant he could land a punch, Sendou would take everything Ippo could throw head-on. His next punched missed, but his opponent's didn't. Another simultaneous exchange followed, but then Sendou couldn't land a punch. If his punches didn't connect he couldn't build his rhythm. He had a punch Ippo couldn't dodge though. The next time he swung it would be waiting for him, but the next attack didn't come.
Makunochi had moved backwards and was swaying again, prioritizing defense over pursuing their exchange. Sendou made to jab, then dashed forward. A jab hit his face, but it wasn't enough to drive him back. In a fraction of a second the two of them were at super close range. Whoever retreated first would be at a disadvantage. A sharp pain struck Sendou's stomach. It was Ippo's 10-cm punch. From watching the tapes, Sendou knew that the distance Makunochi had placed himself at during their first match wasn't purely defensive. He possessed a punch that could be thrown at an ultra short range. Sendou assumed that it was the damage from his smash that had kept the attack at bay. At this range, hooks, jabs, uppercuts, body-blows - none of them would work - at least not like they usually did. Ippo had a 10-cm punch that was a body blow capable of being thrown with no wind up. Sendou had been practicing his own short range move though - a 10-cm uppercut.
*BAP!*
The short upper went in-between Ippo's gloves and knocked his head up. The distance hadn't changed though. Ippo lowered his head and another punch hit Sendou's gut. The two of them traded blow after blow until Ippo's head flew up and he staggered back. Now! Sendou threw a smash. Ippo guarded both it and the straight that followed. From behind his gloves Sendou could see blood on his opponent's face. His punches may had been blocked, but that didn't matter! Again and again he drove his fists into Ippo's guard. Then Ippo's retreat was stopped by the corner. This was it. Sendou punched again and a again. Ippo's shell would crack...
*Thud!*
A clean hit. One flowed after another, then a right hook knocked Makunochi down.
"Down! To your corner!" The referee started counting, but Sendou didn't listen to him. He watched Ippo get to one knee, then try to stand. Good! He could still fight! At 8 the count was stopped and the match continued.
*ding*ding*ding* The round ended before he could capitalize on Ippo's damage.
"*zeh*zeh* Sendou-san's amazing! *zeh* To *zeh* throw an uppercut like that."
"Save your praise for your opponent for after the match kid."
"*zeh* If I don't throw stronger punches...*zeh* He'll just drive *zeh* in again."
"Exactly! You need to attack! Take your fist and drive it into his gut!"
"*zeh* Should *zeh* I use Dempsey Roll?"
"Your lower-body's good, but it won't work if he rushed in again. You have to drive him back with your strength first!"
"OK!"
*ding*ding*ding*
The 2nd round had started. Ippo wasted no time dashing from his corner. The two fighters met in the middle of the ring. Once there, both he and Sendou widened their stances. Neither would be moving from that spot unless they were forced. Ippo's hook was blocked, and Sendou's returning punch was dodged. For a while it seemed as if the two boxers might not connect even in this situation. Ippo landed the first clean punch of the round: a right body-blow. Sendou's straight connected next. Again and again they pounded each other, neither one backing down. The exchange seemed to favor Sendou. He had more body-mass and the difference in their builds began to show. Pressing his advantage, Sendou threw a smash. Ippo reacted without thinking. A 3/4 straight countered the punch, and the right-hand smash that followed a few seconds later. Sendou hadn't used the smash with his dominate hand in their first encounter, but Yamada-kun had during their sparring.
Ippo could see Yamada-kun across from him. There was almost nothing the same between his former kouhai and Sendou, but Yamada's smash had gotten Ippo used to the motion. Now that they were in a hitting match, Ippo was using a more aggressive stance already. A hitting stance was required for his counter to work since it depended on a large movement of the arms. For all the damage he was doing, Sendou refused to fall. The other boxer didn't seem to slow down in the slightest. The third smash was also countered, and Ippo followed up with a long upper. He could feel Sendou's weight on his fist as he lifted his opponent up with that punch.
"Down! Go to a neutral corner!"
Ippo moved where the ref directed him. Sendou was face up on the mat. His eyes were open, but there wasn't any movement.
"1!...2!...3!...4!...5!...6!.." Sendou blinked and then sat up. By "8!" he was up and in his pose again.
"Fight!"
If Sendou landed a hit, he'd rally. Ippo had seen his opponent do it multiple times. The fighting spirit that he possessed would drive him forward. To finish him, Ippo had to act now, before he got his bearings. Two jabs preceded a liver blow. All connected cleanly, and Ippo reversed his rotation to throw a right overhand...
"7!" Someone was yelling at him. To the side he saw Kamogawa-sensei. His coach was banging on the mat.
"8!" He'd been knocked down. Ippo struggled to his feet - pulling himself up with the ropes.
"9!" It was taking so long. He had to get up.
"1-" Ippo took his stance. The world was spinning and he couldn't seem to move his legs, but it was enough for the referee.
"Fight!"
Sendou charged him. Ippo blocked his punch, but it still knocked him backwards. Thankfully he was already at the ropes, which prevented him from falling again. Every punch of Sendou's caused damage through his guard. His stomach shots knocked the air from his lungs, and his head blows made Ippo black out for a split-second. How much longer would the round last? Ippo couldn't look at the round clock. Even if he could, he didn't know if he could...
*ding*ding*ding*
Somehow he made it back to his corner, and stool materialized underneath him.
"*zeh* Wha-*zeh*-What happened?"
"He countered your right overhand. You need to end the combination with the body-blow more often!"
"Y-Yeah.." Kamogawa-sensei was right. Ippo was so caught up in his familiar moves that he hadn't noticed the counter coming at all.
"Defense isn't going to win! Drive him back!"
"*zeh*Yes, *zeh* Coach!"
*ding*ding*ding*
This was the fight he'd wanted. The fight he should've had their first match. Makunochi took some prodding to come out of his shell, but he was an exhilarating opponent after he switched to a more offensive style. Sendou hurt where he'd been struck. He didn't remember the punch that'd knocked him down the first time. What would Ippo do next? If he threw a power punch, then a step-in wouldn't work. Worse still, it'd have both of their weights behind it. If he focused on defense then bringing the fight to ultra-short range was the only way to progress.
As the two of them approached each other, Makunochi was swaying again. What to do? The hell with it! When in doubt: attack! Sendou leaned forward. Two steps would bring him into range. Jabs wouldn't stop him.
*Thud*
That wasn't a jab. Ippo's hook had caught him in the temple. It was hard to think, hard to see, hard to hear. He had to attack! That lone thought persisted in his mind. He could feel his fist connect with something, but another blow crashed into his gut. In front of him he could make out Makunochi's form. His swaying was much more pronounced. It was also different... It no longer was only side to side, a forward and back motion was being incorporated. Sendou's instincts screamed that this was dangerous. He had to stop that motion! He had to use his low smash!
The smash was a combination hook/uppercut. Hard to use, but harder to dodge. Aiming it at Ippo wouldn't work. His upper-body was capable of too wide a range of motion. A combination body-blow/uppercut would work though. The motion was almost the same, and the weight-shifting involved was arguably easier. Sendou aimed at Makunochi's gut.
*THWACK!*
He could feel the punch land. He threw a straight to follow up. His blows were connecting! This was the time to attack! He could feel the energy of the crowd. The chants that reverberated through the auditorium. He wouldn't let them down! He had to win if he was going to keep his promise of becoming the champ! Over and over his punches hit. Ippo had started blocking them, but Sendou drove forward. Fueled by his determination, he wasn't going to back down!
Ippo was almost to the ropes, but he surged forward. His entire body moved and rotated. It was a punch he'd thrown countless times, and he knew how to execute it perfectly: a Liver Blow! It connected. Even with his training, Sendou was momentarily stopped. That punch had definitely cracked 2 of his ribs. In front of him, Makunochi was reversing his motion - preparing to throw a right. Sendou threw a left smash, but Ippo wasn't aiming for a right over-hand. He wasn't even aiming at his head. The right straight hit Sendou squarely in the chest. The impact drove him backwards.
In front of him Ippo was beginning that same figure 8 motion. Sendou's body was barely moving. It was like time had slowed down. His arms were tingling. His feet didn't want to budge, but he'd make them... Then Ippo dashed forward. He swayed to the left, but the punch came from the right. The shock nearly tore Sendou's head off, but it also got his body started again. Another punch from the left. Sendou blocked, but before he could capitalize a hook from the right was thrown. The punches were coming too fast. They all were knockout blows too. Each and every one of them had Ippo full weight behind them. Sendou felt them through his guard, but it was nothing like when they started landing un-contested. He wouldn't fall. He couldn't fall!
"Down! Get to a neutral corner!" Ippo moved away. He could feel his body beginning to bruise. His legs were killing him, but he could barely feel them over the damage Sendou's punches had caused. The Dempsey Roll had worked! Now the question was if it was enough to keep someone like Sendou down.
"1!"
"2!"
"3!"
"4!"
"5!"
"6!" Please don't open your eyes Ippo thought. Sendou had gone from motionless to a full-stance in this match already. Ippo hoped it wasn't going to occur again.
"7!"
"8!"
"9!" The crowd was cheering. It was too loud. Sendou had responded to the crowd while unconscious before...
"10!"
"Makunochi Ippo is the victor!"
In the stands above Date Eiji had a good view of the final moments of the match. So Makunochi had a move like that... The Dempsey Roll? Date had only heard of one technique that matched up with what he'd just seen. Ippo really was the strongest challenger. Before that final flurry, he'd thrown a Heartbreak Shot. Was it on purpose? The accuracy wasn't great and there was no spin on the punch, but there was enough raw strength to compensate. It did prove what he suspected about Sendou Takeshi. The Naniwa Tiger was strong and tough, but his lack of defense would've made for a short fight. If he didn't guard his chest, then a real Heartbreak Shot would've wrapped things up quickly.
Makunochi's power, stamina and defensive ability - these were already world-class. If Date wanted to stand a chance against Ricardo Martinez then he'd have to be able to overcome this level of challenge. He's make the perfect opponent for his final match as the Japanese Champion.
K.O. Time 3rd Round: 2 minutes 39 seconds
Macunochi Ippo Victory
Class-A Tournament Victor
Received the Most Talented Boxer Award!
10-0-0 10 K.O.s