On the Brink is Round 1136 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Characters Introduced: Satō
- Title Page Character(s): Tatsuya Kimura
Summary[]
Inside of the Kōrakuen Hall, Ippo and Itagaki watches the undercards. Itagaki becomes disappointed when he sees Satō, who he sparred with previously, lose his match and is bound to retire as his losses caught up to his wins. Satō's likely retirement makes Itagaki think of how Aoki and Kimura are always on the brink, and depending on the result of their upcoming match they may be in the same boat. Ippo doesn't want to talk about retirement before a match since it is bad luck. Itagaki decides that they should cheer them on to help them win. Just as they were about to practise their cheering, Takamura makes a sudden appearance to suggest to them that Aoki and Kimura should retire. Ippo and Itagaki get irritated, but Takamura points out that since Aoki and Kimura get paid since their pros, their very existence is an insult to the paying public. Takamura adds how Kimura looked like he messed up his weight control. Ippo thinks how Kimura claimed that he can no longer fight as a junior lightweight because it is taking its toll on him. Takamura makes a decision: he will announce Kimura's retirement for him when he loses. As Kimura's match is about to begin, he heads to the ring. Kimura notices how the audience is rooting for him, thinking that they must know that he is on the brink of retirement. Kimura hopes his opponent messed up his weight control as well, however, he realises that his opponent did not and is instead fired up. Takamura realises that Ippo, Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura are all having come-back matches, commenting that he will be all alone soon. When Kimura's match begins, he quickly downs his opponent. Kamogawa notes how Kimura saw his opponent's rush coming and landed his counter perfectly. Yagi adds that being perceptive enough to read his opponent's state of mind is what makes him a veteran. Ippo wonders whose side Takamura is on after Takamura yells out to Kimura's opponent to stand up since Kimura's punches aren't that strong. When Kimura's opponent gets up, the two enter an exchange that goes into Kimura's favour as his punches are the ones landing.