Cocked And Ready is Round 1013 of the Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Title Page Character(s): Mamoru Takamura
Summary[]
Takamura runs towards the Kamogawa gym while believing that Ippo can be a world champion. At the Kamogawa gym, Aoki and Kimura notices that Ippo's face is no longer swollen, so he can spar now. Ippo is worried that he isn't going to get enough sparring done to face the second ranker in the world. Ippo tells them how he has watched videos of Alfredo's matches and noticed that everyone he fought had trouble avoiding his left, which is a common problems boxers have when fighting Mexican boxers due to their left extend far and use them in many ways. Ippo notes that Alfredo is strong, and his plan on fighting him is just to find an answer on how well he can do against the strongest boxers in the world and if he is strong enough to face them. Aoki and Kimura ask if he is seriously going to face Alfredo and then Ricardo without a plan, but Ippo believes he is better off just honing his usual style, which Aoki and Kimura think Ippo is being too casual like Itagaki, making them wonder if he can even win. Takamura appears and reveals that Ippo can. He adds that Ippo can also become world champion, and even dominate weight classes above featherweight and get all eleven belts. Takamura shows the latest Monthly Boxing Fan issue to Aoki and Kimura where it says "MAKUNOUCHI'S COCKED, READY FOR BATTLE". The trio then jokes and dances about the phrase, irritating Ippo to the point of trying to ignore them and failing, making him feel like his fists are powerless. Ippo and Itagaki notices someone outside the window, and when Itagaki opens it, it turns out to be Itagaki's father, who just got laid off of work again. The father claims to have been wandering around and noticed that everyone is having fun at the gym and eavesdropped. He claims that Ippo will soon be drawing his holy sword from the stone, motioning himself removing the sword from the stone and yelling "Excalibur". While Ippo, Aoki, and Kimura didn't get the joke Takamura got it and Itagaki explains how it can mean the male genitalia, causing Ippo to run away from the gym. At the Kawahara gym, Miyata and his father watch videos of Alfredo's matches, and Miyata thinks that Alfredo will be extremely tough to beat.