Pro is Round 1211 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Title Page Character(s): Ippo Makunouchi
Summary[]
At Monthly Boxing Fan, the reporters are talking about Imai's title defence. They think Imai will have a long reign similar to Ippo's eight defences. They were somewhat surprised Imai mentioned Ippo though, but they think Imai must have respected him a lot. Itagaki did too, but he chose to join the same gym instead. One of them wanted to see Ippo up close and learn from him, and the other wanted to become someone who was strong enough to battle him. A reporter mentions that regardless of which approach they think is right, they can't deny that their choices made a difference in where they are now. When the audience at the match heard that Imai wanted to fight Ippo, it became quiet. Fujii claims Ippo was one of the most beloved athletes fighting out of Kōrakuen Hall in recent history, so the sudden loss was probably a lot for them. The reporters start to debate on who would have won between Ippo and Imai, but Fujii tells them to give it a rest. He adds that Imai used the past tense when he talked about wanting to fight Ippo, as he knows Ippo is gone. Fujii thinks they should give him his space and let him rest. Mari wonders if this could really be the end for Ippo, and if he can forget about boxing and enjoy a life without it. In Umezawa's apartment, Ippo is helping Umezawa with his manga, completing fifteen pages. Umezawa is surprised that the "Hero of Kōrakuen Hall" is working in a place like this as a manga assistant. After checking Ippo's work, he asks Ippo if he was wearing weights while doing it. Ippo mentions that he keeps wearing them out of habit, he is worried if it made the drawings bad. But Umezawa says they are perfect, and he surprised at it. It is the kind of work chief assistants would put out. Ippo is happy and wants to learn how to do backgrounds next. Umezawa doesn't think it is right if Ippo is able to do this kind of work, since his hands aren't shaking like before. Ippo wonders if he can be a real manga pro assistant, but Umezawa questions if Ippo can go back to being a pro boxer instead. However, Ippo's already made up his mind about retiring. It's been over two months since Ippo was last at the gym, and he hasn't even seen the others either. Umezawa asked about Itagaki, but Ippo tells him that Itagaki actually quit working on the fishing boat. With Ippo working full time, it covers the lack of manpower that was there before while he was training. Itagaki is now working at his father's security company, the position comes with full benefits, however there aren't any full benefits. Ippo thinks Itagaki quit in order to limit his exposure to boxing. With him around, he might start asking about it. So he told a little white lie when he left. Ippo believes that since everyone is worried so much about him, he feel kind of bad, which is why he need to really commit to getting used to life without boxing. Umezawa think everyone around him is probably having a hard to getting used to it too. Ippo leaves to go home. On the way, he looks up and notices the stars. He thinks that he goes this way all the time, but he never noticed them before and wonders why. He realises that he was always thinking about boxing, and never took the time to stop and look at the stars. He was always thinking about his next match. He didn't enjoy the simple things in life. Ippo realises he is now free to that, where he can enjoy himself. Later, Ippo goes on a date with Kumi to see a movie. They are discussing the movie, and Ippo accidentally throws a punch almost hitting a nearby person. Along the way home, they run into Mari, who is covering the Otowa gym in the area. Ippo starts to talk about Imai, but Mari wants to ask Ippo something instead. Before Mari asks, Kumi steps in and asks her to refrain from talking about boxing, believing that it isn't the right place or time. Mari points out that she wasn't asking her.