I'm Back! is Round 1269 of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo manga series.
Details[]
- Title Page Character(s): Ippo Makunouchi
Summary[]
Ippo practises his lefts while thinking back on how he used to use them until his fist goes through the wall, creating a hole before putting a Ricardo poster over it. He remembers Ricardo as the champion he looked up to and aimed for. Then wonders if he was ever serious about it. Ippo begins writing notes about the left, remembering how Takamura uses his left, while out-boxers Mashiba and Miyata's lefts are used differently compared to his and Takamura's. Ippo recalls the way he used to win was to slip, push-in, and stick to them, which he thought was all he could do, now realising how big a mistake it was as all he was doing was waiting to step forward. Ippo believes he started doing this tactic by the time he fought Date, then got worse when he learned the Dempsey Roll and remembers the event when Kojima countered the tactic. Ippo then compares the positions of his and Takamura's opponent's positioning using stick figures and notices how his opponent's upper body would be looser, which lets him press-in and makes their punches weaker. He continues, thinking that they throw their lefts with no fear of losing the exchange. Realising that it is okay to lose the exchange, he regrets being forced to retire and wonders if he can do it right this time. Knowing that there's so much he still does not know and doesn't understand, he believes boxing is really deep. While at sea in the Makunouchi Fishing Boat, the fishermen notices how Ippo's head of hair is back again. Leading Ippo to say that he is back.