Signs of Increase is Round 1018 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Characters Introduced: Alfredo's Coach
- Title Page Character(s): Ippo Makunouchi, Alfredo González
Summary[]
After another sparring session where Kimura gets hit by another liver blow, Kimura goes to the gym's washroom, where he is approached by Aoki. Kimura tells Aoki how if one throws a normal light jab, it won't stop Ippo, but if one throws a large swing, Ippo can slide past and close in, punching their gut until their sick. Aoki notes that since Ippo doesn't have to do much weight control, he hits at full power. Kimura notices how Ippo's punching angles have changed back to what they were before he learned the Dempsey Roll. He remembers how Ippo, after learning the Dempsey Roll, threw more hooks to match the horizontal weaving, where as before, he threw more punches from down below as originally taught by Kamogawa, which was more like a compact body blow in the form of an uppercut. Kimura also remembers how if someone tried to cover their body, Ippo would change direction and come at their face, then he would go back to the body once they start guarding their face, and keep closing in. Aoki wonders what made Ippo's punches change back. Kimura thinks that Ippo may have felt bad that his match against Kojima ended up being like a brawl and felt the need to go work on his fundamentals. Aoki thinks that Ippo going back to the basics in the world stage and doing what Kamogawa taught him sounds like what Ippo would do. Aoki tells Kimura about his sparring sessions with Itagaki, pointing out how his face looks like it never got hit. Aoki claims that he was unable to land any hits on Itagaki, and while Itagaki is weak because of weight control, he has an extremely strong defence, flexible, and can see almost everything. Aoki thinks that Ippo and Itagaki just keep getting stronger, and unless they magically weaken before their matches, they will win and head to the next level where Kimura and him can't reach them. Ippo asks Itagaki about his condition, which Itagaki answers that he is doing okay. Ippo thinks that he has done all that he needed to do, and all that is left is to find out how long he can fight and how well he will fight against Alfredo, planning to put himself to the test. At the Narita Terminal 1, the Monthly Boxing Fan reporters watch as Alfredo and his staff arrive to Japan. The reporters notice Alfredo is in his training suit, planning to go straight to the local gyms to practise before heading to his hotel. Fujii thinks how Alfredo is already in battle mode, and depending on his match against Ippo, the landscape of the Japanese featherweight class may change a lot.