Episode 26 (Season 1)

The Battle for Distance
Episode Information
Previous	Every Emotion
Episode	Season 1 #26 (Watch Online)
Next	Death Match
Japanese Title	距離の攻防
Romanized Title	Kyori no Kōbō
Arc	Rookie King Tournament: Finals Arc
Manga	Round 77 (p.6-19) Round 78 (p.1-18) Round 79 (p.1-19) Round 80 (p.2-19) Round 81 (p.1-19)
Air dates
Japanese	April 3, 2001
English	June 21, 2005
Music
Opening	Inner Light
Ending	360°

The Battle for Distance is Round 26 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.

Details

• Characters Introduced: Tanaka
• Techniques Introduced: Elbow Block
• Locations Introduced: Tanaka Transportation

Summary

Ippo is shown doing some road work in the morning. Meanwhile, Kumi brings Mashiba his boxing gear at the Tanaka Transportation. Mashiba's boss, Tanaka, is annoyed that he did not thank her, but tells her that he is a good man, albeit "a bit anti-social". Meanwhile at their respective gyms, both Ippo and Mashiba are in the middle of sparring sessions, with both of them easily outclassing their opponents and impressing spectators. As the fighters finish the sparring, their respective coaches note to themselves that they are going to win. The day of the match arrives. In Ippo's locker room, his gym mates wish him luck and leave. Takamura then points out that Ippo is different from how he usually is before a fight, he notes that he is just sitting, saving energy for the actual match. As the disappointing openers end, everybody in the Kōrakuen Hall gets exited with the entrance of Mashiba, who is soon followed by Ippo. As noted by the announcer, predictions on the outcome are 50/50. As they enter the ring and are introduced, Fujii notes that being the final of the tournament, the fight will be six rounds long. Both fighters then go back to their respective corners to wait with their seconds for the start of the match. Each fighter gets advice from their seconds, Kamogawa tells Ippo to keep it as an in-fight while Mashiba's coach suggests otherwise. The bell rings and the first round begins with Ippo on the offensive. He launches a powerful punch but misses, giving Mashiba the opportunity to retreat and change to his Hitman Style, causing Ippo to use his trademark Peek-a-Boo Style. Ippo cautiously measures the distance and gets closer to his opponent, but is then hit in the face by a Flicker Jab. Now confused about Mashiba's reach, Ippo tries to get close in once more, but is again hit in the face. Mashiba overwhelms Ippo with his usual knockout pattern and throws a Chopping Right, which Ippo barely avoids by holding on to the ropes. The fight continues with Mashiba outclassing Ippo with his repeated Flicker Jabs, despite the latter's attempts to get out of his opponents range. Mashiba once again attempts his usual knockout pattern, but his final attack, the Chopping Right, is stopped by Ippo's solid guard. Ippo is repeatedly hit by the flickers, but as noted by his gym mates who were originally telling him to calm down, he begins to become use to them and soon starts dodging them, thus avoiding serious damage. Ippo who is now swaying, manages to get into Mashiba's zone and as he is about to deliver a powerful hit, the bell ends the second round. The round is scored 10-9 in favour of Mashiba and the referee sends the fighters to their corners. Kamogawa, tells Ippo that he must avoid taking anymore hits, and that he must get into Mashiba's zone in order to be able to damage him. In the opposite corner, Mashiba's trainer tells him he must avoid Ippo's destructive power. Mashiba laughs it off, saying that it is that power what will destroy Ippo. The second round begins with Ippo utilising his weaving, making it impossible for Mashiba to land a proper hit. Despite the audiences expectations, Mashiba continues to use his Hitman Style. Ippo successfully puts Mashiba against the ropes and attempts an uppercut, but the latter dodges. Realising that such move can not work against someone of Mashiba's height, Ippo goes for the body. With Mashiba still cornered, Ippo uses the opportunity to attack his body with a right hook, but is stopped by an Elbow Block.

Anime-Manga Differences

See also: Anime-Manga Differences

• Kamogawa telling Ippo that his fist is already healed is omitted from the anime.

Credits

Characters are named as they appear in the credits.

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji	English Voice Actor
Ippo Makunouchi	Kōhei Kiyasu	喜安 浩平	Kiyasu Kōhei	Steve Cannon
Mamoru Takamura	Rikiya Koyama	小山 力也	Koyama Rikiya	Eddie Frierson
Coach Kamogawa	Kenji Utsumi	内海 賢二	Utsumi Kenji	Richard George
Masaru Aoki	Wataru Takagi	高木 渉	Takagi Wataru	Jim Taggert
Tatsuya Kimura	Keiji Fujiwara	藤原 啓治	Fujiwara Keiji	Grant George
Reporter Fujii	Ken'ichi Ono	小野 健一	Ono Ken'ichi	Hamilton Fox
Ryō Mashiba	Masahiko Tanaka	田中 正彦	Tanaka Masahiko	Terry Roberts
Tōhō Gym Coach	Yukitoshi Hori	堀 之紀	Hori Yukitoshi	Richard George
Tanaka Transportation President	Yōsuke Akimoto	秋元 羊介	Akimoto Yōsuke
Referee	Shōji Izumi	泉 尚摯	Izumi Shōji	Steve Areno
Ring Announcer	Katsuyuki Konishi	小西 克幸	Konishi Katsuyuki
Live Announcer	Jin Horikawa	堀川 仁	Horikawa Jin	Ron Allen
Kumi Mashiba	Sanae Kobayashi	小林 沙苗	Kobayashi Sanae	Jennifer Sekiguchi
Tōhō Gym Trainee	Kenji Yoshida	吉田 健司	Yoshida Kenji
Audience	Masaru Motegi	茂木 優	Motegi Masaru

Episode Credits

Role	English Name	Japanese	Rōmaji
Screenplay	Kenji Sugihara	杉原 研二	Sugihara Kenji
Storyboard	Yukina Hiiro	ひいろ ゆきな	Hiiro Yukina
Director	Yukina Hiiro	ひいろ ゆきな	Hiiro Yukina
Animation Director	Kazuya Miura	三浦 和也	Miura Kazuya