Jason Ozuma

Jason Ozuma (ジェイソン・尾妻, Jeison Ozuma) is a non-recurring character in Hajime no Ippo.

Jason is a retired boxer who was affiliated with the Hachinohe Boxing Group. He was known for his immensely powerful right hooks, intimidating appearance, but surprisingly kind and compassionate personality.

Background

Ozuma was an African-American soldier stationed at the Misawa Air Base near Hachinohe, Aomori. Before becoming a boxer, he was homeless and didn't know where to go when he arrived at Japan. Believing if he did something, he could produce something, he went to the Hachinohe Boxing Group in order to box.

Part I

Rookie King Tournament: First Rounder Arc

After sparring at the Hachinohe Boxing Group, he sees the his coach's wife hurting her finger while sewing a sandbag. He offers to takes over and sew, however, she initially refuses before accepting the offer. He then tells her that he will continue winning and become a champion to receive money for the gym to prevent her from injuries.

He heads off to the Nerima Boxing Group as everyone bids him farewell, with his coach having to stay at the gym and his coach's wife giving him money. When he arrives to the Nerima Boxing Group, he spars with Ohta Toshiyuki. When Ohta makes Ozuma angry, Ozuma quickly defeats Ohta with a hook that sends him to the hospital. At the day of his first match of the tournament against Makunouchi Ippo, he goes to the weigh-in room and passes the weight check. He then goes and meet Ippo, wishing to have a good fight as he states he will do his best.

When the match arrives, Ozuma goes to the ring and the match starts. Both fighters don't land a hit for awhile, until Ozuma lands a left that caused Ippo to go down. In the second round, Ozuma manages to knock Ippo down again, before Ozuma gets knocked down by a body blow. During the second round, Ozuma throws a right hook, Ippo then ducks and throws a body blow that stuns Ozuma. Ozuma is then hit by a series of punches that knocks him out. Ozuma is unable to get up and loses the match. Ozuma then wishes for Ippo to get the Rookie King title.

Later, it is revealed that Ozuma has retired due to spine damage from the match.

Match History

Match History
#	Result	Record	Date	Opponent	Location	Time	Type	Notes
4	LOSS	3-1-0	1991-06	Makunouchi Ippo	Tokyo, Japan	2(4), 2:52	KO	East Japan Rookie King Tournament Round 1
Retired

Appearance

Towering in height compared to Ippo, Ozuma's appearance can prove to be incredibly intimidating. He has a dark skin tone and black hair. His hairstyle, as expected of a man from the military, is cut short and styled neatly to prevent any stray strands to fall in his line of vision. In addition to that, Ozuma also has a neatly trimmed stubble beard that wraps around his chin and mouth. His eyebrows are short and moderately thick. Ozuma's eyes are onyx in colour.

Personality

Ozuma possesses a polite and outgoing personality. He is kind, compassionate, and charitable, stating that his reason for boxing is to earn money for his gym. He treats his coach and gym mates like his own family, supporting them and fighting for them with hardened resolve.

Abilities

Ozuma is an orthodox right-handed in-fighter, most frequently fighting at close range to increase the precision of his immensely powerful hooks, which are considered his finishing move. His hooks in power are comparable to Takamura Mamoru's and in speed it may be higher.^[1].

His body, built expertly for an in-fighter, has the ability to withstand the punches of the esteemed hard-puncher Ippo.

Weaknesses

When he throws his signature hook, his body opens up, leaving him very vulnerable to body blows and counterattacks.

Gallery

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Jason Ozuma fighting stance.

Jason after the fight with Ippo.

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Trivia

• Based on the Japanese Wiki, Jason's fighting style was modeled after Yoshino Hiroyuki.
• Jason was 19 years old when he first appeared in the story.^[2].

References