The Challenger is Round 52 of the Hajime no Ippo anime, which is the adaptation of Jōji Morikawa's Hajime no Ippo series.
Summary[]
At the Nakadai gym, after Date knocks down his opponent in a spar, Nakadai ends the sparring session, praising Date's moves and thinks that his fine-tuning is perfect. Date believes that that wasn't enough, as it will take better punches than that to knock Ippo down. Date leaves the gym to do roadwork. During roadwork, Date thinks that if Ippo was still the same as when he first met him, his current condition would be more than sufficient, however, he is different now than he was a year ago, so he won't fall that easily.
Date remembers when he first saw the Eastern Japan Rookie King Ippo fight the Western Japan Rookie King Sendō at the All Japan Rookie King Tournament. He recalls the match being a clash of fighting spirits between notorious hard punchers that turned into something superb. When Sendō charged in with a Smash, Ippo fought back with a short uppercut. He notes that the match evolved into a terrific free-for-all using deadly attacks from each boxer's repertoire. The match ended in Ippo's victory after Sendō remained seated at his corner due to loss of consciousness. Date believes that Ippo was still imperfect in many ways and he never saw him as a threat. However, after he watched the match, Ippo's name was etched into his memory.
About a month later, Date recalls meeting Ippo face-to-face for the first time, where he nominated him to be his sparring partner in preparation for his upcoming JBC featherweight title defence match. Date notes that while there was the fine-tuning, he had a definite interest in Ippo as well. As Date predicted, Ippo was a good boxer, and while the power of his single blow and the speed of his dash were both unrefined, he sensed that he had huge potential. The thing that impressed Date the most was his fighting spirit. Date notes that while Ippo took too many hits, he still got back on his feet, even after being hit with the Heart Break Shot. After seeing Ippo get back up repeatedly, he knew that he would have to fight him one day again, and the match would not be easy.
Date remembers when Ippo fought last year's Rookie King Okita, where it showed the difference between Okita, who wanted to catch up with him, and Ippo, who wanted to defeat and overtake him. Date believes there was only a slight difference in power between Okita, who had learned the Corkscrew Blow, and Ippo. However, the difference in emotion determined the winner, with Ippo winning the match. Date notes that it was a period of time when he had defended the JBC title many times in the process of setting his sights on the world title, and even considered relinquishing the JBC title. However, he didn't like the idea of proceeding to the world title without having a match against Ippo. After Date defeated Toshio Suzuki, he announced that he won't be going for the world title yet as he still has unfinished business as a JBC champion.
Ippo entered the Class A Boxer Prize Money Tournament, where those who come out on top are given the priority challenging rights towards the JBC title. Date remembers Ippo's first match in the tournament being against Saeki, who had amazing punches. He notes that Ippo had the handicap of a period of no training and was baffled and tormented by Saeki's speed. He adds that Ippo was powerless against Saeki who was overwhelmingly dominant. However, Ippo took advantage of Saeki's perfectly-timed footwork and finally landed one punch. He notes that one punch was enough to strike terror in Saeki's mind, making his footwork fall apart, and soon resulting in Ippo's victory.
Date remembers Ippo's opponent for the Class A Tournament finals was the Russian boxer Volg, who had four hundred amateur victories and no losses. Date notes that Volg had the primal fighting instinct of a wolf. While Ippo began his training, Date believed that he had barely any chance of defeating Volg. When the match began, it started with a slugfest, and Ippo managed to keep up with Volg's speed, but he was overwhelmed by technique at every turn. Date was surprised when Volg was the first to go down, but he immediately pulled himself together. He adds that the down triggered an attack on Ippo from Volg's carnivorous fangs until Ippo went down from the White Fang. Date thinks that the overwhelming technical difference was made clear to Ippo while also preventing his Gazelle Punch. Everyone thought that Ippo no longer had a weapon to combat Volg with, but Ippo didn't give up. Date believes that Kamogawa foresaw an even greater development, with even a boxer like Volg who had an overwhelming amateur career would become exhausted in the pro boxing ring. Ippo's punches assailed Volg as he lost his stamina and could no longer move his legs. After Ippo won the match with his Gazelle Punch, he earned the right to challenge Date.
Dates returns to the Nakadai gym after his roadwork and requests for Okita to spar with him. Date thinks that Ippo will be hist most powerful challenger, but he doesn't plan on giving him his champion belt. With Date and Okita in the ring about to spar, Date wishes to defeat Ippo to prove that he is the champion.
Trivia[]
- Eiji Date claims that Alexander Volg Zangief had 400 amateur victories. However, his record is 223 victories.
- When Keigo Okita was being asked by Date to spar with him, he was wearing a green shirt under his hoodie. When he entered the ring, it was changed to a red shirt.
Credits[]
Characters are named as they appear in the credits.
Episode Credits[]
| Role | English Name | Japanese | Rōmaji |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenplay | Tatsuhiko Urahata | 浦畑 達彦 | Urahata Tatsuhiko |
| Storyboard | Ken'ichi Kawamura | 川村 賢一 | Kawamura Ken'ichi |
| Director | Ken'ichi Kawamura | 川村 賢一 | Kawamura Ken'ichi |
| Animation Director | Kōji Sugiura | 杉浦 幸次 | Sugiura Kōji |