Grind... is Round 1026 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Title Page Character(s): Ippo Makunouchi, Ryūhei Sawamura, Mamoru Takamura, David Eagle, Masaru Aoki, Katsutaka Imae
Summary[]
As he is still in the corner, Itagaki starts his plan of getting out by throwing left hooks. After hitting Imai with two left hooks, Imai pushes Itagaki into the corner post with his head to his chest, thinking how Itagaki's punches are like razor blades: a single hit can sever one's consciousness, but only for a moment, as it is not the kind of damage that digs deep and keeps hurting, so with a bit of fortitude, he can withstand it, deeming Itagaki's punches weak. Imai clenches his teeth as he is hit by a third left hook, which doesn't get off Itagaki. Itagaki sees that Imai can take hits to the temple, so he tries the jaw, lifting Imai's head with his gloves and throws a left uppercut. A dual exchange happens as Itagaki's left uppercut and Imai's liver blow lands at the same time. Imai's jaw is sent skyward, Itagaki doubles over in pain, and both boxers' mouthpiece goes flying. Imai thinks back on how ever since he was defeated by Itagaki, he has been preparing for this moment by grinding his head onto the corner post and punching it. He knew that with Itagaki's speed, he could not counter him, so he could only hope for a dual exchange. He recalls his first body blow disabled Itagaki legs and speed, while Itagaki's feinting to fake Imai out failed since he pressed into him, so he didn't need to look at him, and since Itagaki was pinned to the corner, he couldn't move around, thrilled to have broken all three of his superpowers that let him hide in another world. He thinks how Itagaki is always used to travelling to another world with his incredible focus, where weaker boxers are helpless due to not being able to chase after him, which is why Itagaki's matches look uneven. Imai knows Itagaki's head is clear while his body is paralysed, so he will appear slow still, but Itagaki won't be able to react to his punches, so he plans on making Itagaki see pure hell.
Trivia[]
- The cover page is based on the third anime season's promotional art.