Speed Zone Arc

Speed Zone Arc
Information
Volumes	97-101, (5 Volumes)
Manga Rounds	942-981, (40 Chapters)
Chronology
Previous	Blind Step Arc
Next	Proud Wolf Arc

The Speed Zone Arc is the forty-first story arc in the series and the third in the World Contender Saga.

With Ippo's match against Kojima ending in a one punch knockout in the first round, Takamura's fourth WBC middleweight world title defence match against Rabbitson continues. Then, Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura's Class A Tournament finals begin. Itagaki faces the "Speed Star" Saeki, who Ippo fought in the past. It will be a battle to decide who is the fastest boxer in the nation. Aoki faces against Iga, who has Baron as his trainer, and Kimura faces against a former Japanese champion.

Summary

Operation World Domination II - Main Event - WBC Middleweight Title Match - Champion Mamoru Takamura (Fourth Defence) vs. Challenger Peter Rabbitson (WBC Rank 5)

Takamura fighting Rabbitson

As Takamura's fourth WBC middleweight title defence against Rabbitson continues, it goes to the eleventh round. Rabbitson dodges every swing and punch that Takamura throws, with none landing since the first round. The eleventh round ends, and as Rabbitson goes back to his corner, his trainer congratulates him and tells him not to fight in the last round in order to win by decision, as there is a chance Takamura may hit him. Rabbitson hesitates on the suggestion but in the end he agreed with his trainer's words to act as a professional and take the belt. At Takamura's corner, Takamura is extremely unsatisfied and annoyed with the way Rabbitson fights. As Kamogawa asks him now that there's one round left and Rabbitson is leading the points what will Takamura do. Takamura replies, that he will beat him in the last round, as there's nothing else to do.

Takamura defeating Rabbitson.

In the last twelfth round, Rabbitson's trainer says to play safe from the corner and that Takamura still has the advantage because of the crowd. Takamura aggressively starts swinging at Rabbitson, who dodges with ease repeatedly, annoying Takamura even more as he calls Rabbitson a chicken and asks why he isn't fighting him. The crowd jeers at Takamura to use his brain as they ask if he's trying to win in a single punch like Ippo did previously. To Rabbitson's surprise, he realises that the crowd is starting to cheer for him, way more than the champion. Rabbitson rushes and lands a left straight on Takamura, but his trainer isn't happy with it. Praised by the crowd for his left and overall himself, he thanks Japan for being so kind to appreciate his efforts and that he will put it for good use now. Rabbitson strikes again, and, throwing a third punch, he views his fist as if it is carrying all of Japan's hopes behind it. Aoki and Ippo rush to the scene with disbelief that Takamura might lose, although Aoki implies one day it is bound to happen, he's still human after all. Opening the entrance doors with shock, they arrive at the moment Rabbitson is caught by Takamura's swing, lifting him off the canvas. In the brink of victory by decision, Rabbitson is dropped with a single punch, for the single mistake of not playing safe. The referee ends the match without a count, resulting in Takamura's victory. As the match has ended, he crowd still jeers upon Takamura as they leave the ring, and Kamogawa isn't happy one bit.

Dream Match in a Bar

Meeting in the bar.

Takamura is nowhere to be found in the hall of the venue, as right after the match, he went off on his own without Kamogawa noticing. In the waiting room, Kamogawa tells Ippo that he has a lot to say, but since Takamura is gone and he is tired, he is dismissed, ordering him to go home and rest. At the Mayweather Bar, Sendō, Date, Okita, Saeki, Mashiba, and Kumi sit and drink at a table. Sendō asks Date about Ricardo as he's interested in fighting him. The drunk Date tells Sendō that he will be an old man until he is capable of fighting Ricardo, but even then he would of already retired, causing Sendō to get angry.

A group of boxers getting ready to fight Takamura.

When Sendō and Mashiba begins to argue, Kumi and Saeki tries to calm them down as Date figures that the two are angry about Takamura's poor performance. As everyone agrees with Date, the group complains about Takamura for his performance and his panda outfit until they notice that Takamura was in the bar with them the entire time. Since Takamura heard everything they said, he acts like he is going to leave before proclaiming that he blocked the door so they can't leave. Date's further provocations sparks a bar fight between the group and Takamura, which ends in all five boxers getting knocked out and Kumi having to put bandages on them.

Stories to be Told: Kojima's Final Wish

Ippo saying he betrayed his boxing.

The next day, Kamogawa requests for Ippo to come into his office. When Ippo arrives, Kamogawa lectures that the fists and legs he gave him were for boxing, and in the six years he has trained him, he never taught him pure violence. He adds that there is more to boxing than winning a match, and that if the principles are corrupted, he may as well have lost. Kamogawa notices Ippo showing signs of a fever and requests for Itagaki to take him home. Kumi visits Ippo's room at the Makunouchi Fishing Boat after she heard from Itagaki that he is sick, but Ippo claims that it is only a fever. Ippo mentions that Kamogawa gave him some good advice about how violence is bad, which Kumi agrees. Later, at the Kamogawa gym, Mari interviews Ippo on his victory against Kojima. She asks if Ippo is proud, and how he feels for winning that way and if Kojima's incredible punch was no joke. He explains that his training has never betrayed him but this time he betrayed it, it was only natural he received a punch like that, Ippo regrets it. Mari says that she is going to visit Kojima and Aoki immediately jumps out and leaves his training to go with her and see him as well. Kamogawa addresses to Yagi the fact that Ippo understood his mistake, adding that he can't wait to see the seeds that are being planted to the young fighter from his training that even the world powers will have to take notice in time, specifically the weapon he's building. Yagi wonders if Kamogawa has done something to Ippo's Dempsey Roll.

Aoki talking with Kojima after Kojima's match against Ippo.

Mari and Aoki goes to the Soehiro to interview Kojima. Before Mari begins the interview, she and Aoki asks Kojima why he acted antagonistic towards Ippo, learning that he was doing it to psych himself up to try and remove the feelings of his admiration towards Ippo. Starting the interview, Mari asks Kojima how destructive Ippo's power was, however, Kojima claims that he doesn't remember anything besides entering the ring and the end of the match. Mari tells Kojima how it is said that the brain blocks memories of extreme pain or fear due to the shock it does to the body, which means his memories of the match possibly won't be remembered to him. Hearing that, Kojima becomes sad, and believes that it is a fitting punishment for him as he will always be a villain to Ippo. Aoki scolds Kojima for his decision to retire with no memory of his last match. After Kojima remarks that only the elite can get anywhere in the professional world and he doesn't have what it takes, Aoki rebukes that one keeps boxing because of what they built for themselves and sees no point of giving up after all the hard work they put into it. Kojima has a bag thrown on him by Aoki as he leaves. Mari mentions to Kojima that Aoki probably feels lonely due to the boxers that are still active that were with them in the Rookie Kings are very few and she is sure that Aoki realises that only the boxers that truly shine and last long are ones who have what it takes. When Kojima opened the bag Aoki threw at him, he was shocked to see that there were a pair of boxing gloves that were signed by Ippo for his son, feeling that he can retire at ease now.

Naturally Gifted Differences

Aoki meets up with Ippo, Itagaki, and Kimura to talk about Kojima and reflects the similarities between them, and how one day he could follow the same steps to stay with his loved ones after his own personal great career. Itagaki doesn't care about it as he still has no intention of forgiving him for his behaviour towards Ippo, that he was just another wash out. Kimura understands Aoki fully and sorrowfully explains to Itagaki that naturally gifted people like him and Ippo would never understand as much as they do. Itagaki claims that him and Ippo also work as hard as anyone else. Kimura claims that he isn't denying that they're working hard but replies that no matter how much they work hard there will always be natural born differences between people, as he asks if Ippo ever wanted to be stronger or Itagaki ever wanted to be faster. Aoki and Kimura have to deal with a lot more for what they lack. Itagaki takes it back and understands as well the situation they're in, that sooner or later they will have to retire no matter what as they get closer to the end of their careers.

Umezawa talking abut the Class A Tournament with Ippo.

Ippo visits Umezawa to help with his manga drafts that have a chance to be published in a one-shot in a magazine. Umezawa stresses how there are always others better when it comes to serialising manga, and only a few elite, who are born naturally gifted make it to the top. After Ippo makes mistakes while editing Umezawa's drafts, Umezawa decides to end their session, as he has to work as an assistant the next day. Umezawa asks Ippo about his gym mates' chances of winning the Class A Tournament. and, out of the three, Ippo claims that Aoki has the best chance. Umezawa hopes that one of the two veterans win the tournament, since he often hears from his assistants that once someone reaches a certain age, their prospects dry up, making it become pointless thinking they can get big. He adds that boxers also have to worry about getting punch drunk, which he is sure that is something Aoki and Kimura worry about. Noticing that Ippo is worried, Umezawa reassures him that all three will win.

Aoki's Trauma

Kamogawa, Yagi, and Shinoda discussing the Class A Tournament finals.

Yagi tells Kamogawa how Itagaki went out to spar, while Aoki and Kimura are sparring each other. He notes how all three are fired up for the Class A Tournament. Shinoda is confident that they will win. Yagi comments how it must be rough for Shinoda to be the trainer for Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki every day. Shinoda responds that Kamogawa has it harder due to training Ippo and Takamura. Kamogawa disagrees, as no matter the boxer, they place their lives in the trainer's hands, making the both of them in the same position. As Kamogawa deems Saeki a tough opponent for Itagaki, as Ippo was able to just barely beat him, Shinoda believes that Itagaki has great potential. After Itagaki completed his sparring sessions, where Itagaki was beaten, Ippo walks with him, and supports him by mentioning that it was probably a bad day. While talking, Ippo becomes suspicious that Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura are holding something from him. Itagaki reveals to Ippo that Aoki and Kimura are thinking about retiring after seeing someone around their age in Kojima retiring. Not wanting them to retire, Ippo wishes to cheer for them as much as he can.

The gym members helping Aoki get over his trauma.

At his house, Ippo gets a call from Takamura about bad news. Ippo arrives to Takamura's house to find out what happened and is shown a video which Takamura claims to be a fatal flaw of Aoki's. Watching the video and hearing Takamura's explanation, Ippo learns that Aoki's fatal flaw is that he closes his eyes as a punch is coming toward him. Since Takamura doesn't want to go to the gym to hear Kamogawa's lecture about his match against Rabbitson, Takamura persuades Ippo tell Aoki, or Aoki will lose and it will be Ippo's fault. After not being able to tell him the next day, Ippo reviews Aoki's match videos and discovers that his trauma of closing his eyes happened before his debut match and it is a right straight. The next day, Ippo goes to the Kamogawa gym and, after stopping Takamura, Kimura, and Itagaki from picking on Aoki about him closing his eyes when he sees a punch coming, he gets Tomiko to perform hypnosis on Aoki to reveal who caused the trauma. When it turns out to be Takamura, the gym members comes up with a plan for Aoki to overcome his fear of Takamura to cure his trauma that affected his boxing. Ippo, Itagaki, and Kimura holds Aoki while Takamura throws rights at Aoki's face until Aoki is able to keep his eyes open and describe the type of punch Takamura threw, curing his trauma. Though Aoki is cured of his weakness, Tomiko doesn't like how Aoki has spaced out at times and never seems happy anymore. Aoki reassures her that he now has confidence that he will win the Class A Tournament and take the JBC lightweight title. At Kimura's house, Kimura reflects on how he may be reaching his limits as a junior lightweight since he has become more tired in the later rounds, thinking that he may retire if he loses. At Itagaki's house, Itagaki reads the magazine article for Ippo's match against Saeki, making it his goal to beat his knockout time in order to compete with Ippo without challenging him for his belt.

Class A Tournament Finals - Manabu Itagaki VS. Takuma Saeki

The Itagaki family doing the "Itag-kiin" pose at Itagaki's match against Saeki.

The next day, the Class A Tournament finals begin at the Kōrakuen Hall. In the audience, Tomiko, Kimura's father and mother, Itagaki's father and mother, and Nanako sit by each other to cheer for team Kamogawa. At the Kamogawa gym's venue room, Ippo and Takamura encourage Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki to win. As Itagaki and Saeki's match is about to begin, Itagaki's father suggests for the group to be stay quiet so Itagaki can focus and to itagakeep an eye on him. Kimura's father notices how the Itagaki family are serious and solemn. When Itagaki runs to the ring and gets inside, he stands on the ropes and performs a "Itag-kiin" pose, with his family doing to same in the audience. Rather than shadowboxing, Itagaki runs around the ring. After Saeki enters the ring and before heading to each others corner to start the match, Itagaki assumes Saeki is going to try and get revenge on Ippo, telling Saeki that he won't let him, however, Saeki mentions how he has only thought about Itagaki.

Itagaki dodging Saeki's Flicker Jabs.

When the match begins, Itagaki focuses and enters his Bullet Time. Itagaki becomes surprised when Saeki is able to keep up with his speed and throw a Flicker Jab, which Itagaki knocks away. Itagaki and Saeki attempts to hit each other, however, neither can land a hit even with Itagaki's Hedgehog and Saeki's Flicker Jab barrage. The two race each other around the ring while throwing punches until the first round ends, with neither landing a hit the whole round. Before walking to the corner, Itagaki hits Saeki's right hand since he knows that Saeki hasn't thrown his right yet. At Saeki's corner, Saeki remembers his conversation with Karasawa at the Koedo Sushi. He remembers how Karasawa revealed to him how he is entering the workforce and retiring from boxing, as he has lost to both an in-fighter and out-boxer. As Karasawa explained how fast Itagaki was and how Itagaki was someone that he wanted to be, Saeki felt insulted that he seems to view Itagaki as the iconic speed boxer. As Karasawa was about to leave, Saeki asked if Karasawa has any regrets, however, Karasawa did not answer with a regret of his own, but a wish that Itagaki could fight against Ippo. While watching Karasawa shadowbox, Saeki could feel his frustration and regret. In the present, Saeki wishes to use his fists and feet to prove that he has a place in the world. At Itagaki's corner, Itagaki is advised by Shinoda to not over complicate things and to keep going after Saeki.

Itagaki's right eye damaged from Saeki, creating a blind spot.

In the second round, after dodging each other punches, Itagaki notices Saeki throwing his first right of the match, which he sees as a slow telegraphed punch. Disappointed, Itagaki throws a counter. The right turns out to be a feint as Itagaki is hit with Saeki's left from Itagaki's blind spot. Saeki proceeds to feint with both his left and his right, leaving Itagaki confused as to which punch will be real, getting hit multiple times. Due to Saeki targeting Itagaki's right eye, Itagaki becomes unable to see out of it as it has swollen shut. Saeki begins using Itagaki's swollen right eye to his advantage, going outside of Itagaki's vision and hitting him with a full body left before the second round ends. At the corner, Itagaki plays an animal-themed game of Shiritori with Shinoda, who starts it to get Itagaki to relax. Itagaki is told by Shinoda to have fun and not to take anything seriously. At Saeki's corner, Saeki tells his coach that the match is fun since Itagaki is fast and they are throwing punches within fractions of a second, never having felt thrills like this before. His coach notes how Saeki has set the pace, advising him to not rush, to stay on his guard and keep wearing him down. Remembering Karasawa telling him how Itagaki seemed like he vanished at long range, Saeki thinks it will be him vanishing this time. Saeki predicts that, since half of Itagaki's vision is blacked out, if he circles around him to that side at full speed, he won't be able to keep up. Saeki tells his legs that it is time to go full throttle.

Itagaki using the Itagaki Shuffle.

In the third round, Itagaki continues to get hit by Saeki, who throws punches from Itagaki's blind spot. Itagaki remembers playing Shiritori with Shinoda and decides to play it in his head while shuffling his feet by using the Ali Shuffle. Itagaki begins to dodge all of Saeki's punches and even get out of the corner, seemingly disappearing from Saeki's sight when he tries to attack Itagaki at the corner. Expanding on the Ali Shuffle, Itagaki uses the Itagaki Shuffle, a full body feint, to confuse Saeki with rapid random movements to successfully hit Saeki multiple times from different angles. The third round ends as Itagaki and Saeki lands a hit on a each other in a dual exchange. At Itagaki's corner, Yagi asks if Itagaki's depth perception was off since he landed many hits despite his right eye being still swollen. Itagaki mentions that he was seeing the ring from above. Realising that the fourth round is next, Itagaki proceeds to focus in order to beat Ippo's knockout time. At Saeki's corner, Saeki's coach tells him that he is certain that he has the lead in points, and while him and Itagaki are both badly hurt, he still has a chance. Saeki thinks that while he is hurt, it is not in the same way, telling his legs to hang in there.

Itagaki defeating Saeki.

In the fourth round, Itagaki starts with the Itagaki Shuffle while Saeki puts up his guard. After landing hits on Saeki's guard, both boxers circle around the ring, and Itagaki gets hit with a left due to his lack of depth perception. Itagaki uses his Itagaki Shuffle and hits Saeki with two body blows before retreating to do the shuffle again. Itagaki hits Saeki on his high guard with a barrage of left and rights, with some landing through the small holes in the guard. When Saeki's guard breaks, Itagaki dodges a one-two before hitting Saeki with a counter for every punch he throws until he blocks again. Itagaki enters his shuffle and attempts to hit Saeki on his side, however, Saeki discovers him and lands a counter on Itagaki. Itagaki and Saeki enter a middle range exchange with both even at first until Itagaki slowly begins to dominate, ending the exchange with a powerful right. Saeki begins to throw a barrage of punches at Itagaki. Itagaki dodges while getting into his range to throw his own barrage of punches, which hits Saeki until he falls down. When Saeki gets up, Itagaki hits him with a left as Saeki stumbles, making Saeki fall onto the referee. The referee sees Saeki being unable to continue and ends the match, resulting in Itagaki winning the match and Class A Tournament while earning the title of "Speed King." Seeing that he beat Ippo's knockout time, Itagaki celebrates in the ring with the "Itaga-kiin" pose, with his family and Kimura's father also doing the pose in the audience. As Itagaki and his seconds leave the ring, Kamogawa praises Shinoda as him playing Shiritori with Itagaki led to his come back, deeming Shinoda a brilliant trainer, and Aoki and Kimura have nothing to worry about with Shinoda at their side. Shinoda is happy to be praised by Kamogawa, telling him to leave it to him.

Class A Tournament Finals - Tatsuya Kimura VS. A Former Champion

Kimura fighting his opponent in the Class A Tournament finals.

At the Kamogawa gym's waiting room, Aoki and Kimura, having watched the match on TV, notices how Itagaki got everyone heated up, and it seems as if they declare him the MVP, however, Aoki and Kimura notes that they haven't seen their match. As Itagaki enters the room, Aoki and Kimura claims that it is time for them to preserve their dignity as his senpai. Ippo goes to the room to stay with Itagaki as everyone else leaves. Ippo congratulates Itagaki on his victory. As Kimura enters the ring for his match against a former champion, his parents are excited to see him, while Itagaki's family are uninterested in cheering with them. Shinoda tells Kimura to trust him and give it his all. Kamogawa tells Shinoda how he is sure Kimura feels like he is on the winning team. Shinoda wishes for three wins in a row to get more praise from Kamogawa. At the Kawahara gym, Miyata learns from Suzuki that Itagaki won against Saeki in the Class A Tournament, with Miyata's father noting that that makes Itagaki an OPBF ranker. When Suzuki claims that Itagaki beating Saeki makes him the fastest in Japan, Miyata mentions that he doesn't care about who's the fastest in Japan, however, who's the fastest in the world is a different matter. Suzuki asks Miyata if he should call his friend for an update on Kimura and Aoki's Class A Tournament result, but Miyata has no interest since he is not at the Kamogawa gym anymore and believes that the duo will have no problems anyway. When Kimura's match begins, Kimura ends the first round after hitting his opponent a few times. At Kimura's corner, Shinoda tries to play Shiritori with Kimura, but Kimura just becomes confused. Kimura continues fighting until the end of the match, where he barely loses by decision, losing the tournament. walking away from the ring, Kamogawa tells Shinoda that he did all the he could. Shinoda hopes for Aoki to win to make i two out of three at least.

Class A Tournament Finals - Masaru Aoki VS. Shinobu Iga

Kimura apologises to Aoki for cooling down the place after Itagaki heated it up. Shinoda and Yagi are surprised to see Aoki have a serious look on his face. Aoki realises that Kimura is thinking about retiring, but Aoki will try to make him think twice by winning his match. At the Kamogawa gym's room, after Ippo and Itagaki watched Kimura's match, Ippo claims that it is sad he lost but he did his best so he can go home with pride. Ippo adds that no one can say anything bad about the match after how hard Kimura tried, as there is no one that petty. At the Tōhō gym, Mashiba is angry that Kimura lost the Class A Tournament finals and explains to his coach how the only time Kimura did anything good was against him, and feels like it puts him in a bad light, wanting Kimura to win sometimes to show that what happen in their match wasn't a fluke. His coach asks him if he wants to know the results of Aoki's Class A Tournament match since he is in the same weight class, however, Mashiba deems himself above national level, and knows that Aoki won't be doing his usual mud fighting since he is fighting a no-name rookie.

Aoki fighting Iga.

When Aoki and Iga's match begins, Aoki gets downed early into the first round, amazed at Iga's power. Aoki gets up and continues to get outclassed until the first round ends, dazed while going to his corner. At Iga's corner, Baron instructs Iga to take his time and make Aoki suffer, as he wants to get revenge on Aoki after he was beaten by him. Baron adds that if Iga keeps doing what he tells him to do, he will become the world champion. As the match continues, Aoki keeps getting beaten with ease, despite the former's attempts to use his trademark moves. Aoki continues getting hit with Iga having no intention of finishing him off, only to make him suffer as instructed by Baron. Tomiko, who is watching, can't help but cry and scream in sight of her loved one beaten so badly; Iga calls her an ugly pig, much to Aoki's frustration. After the sixth round, at Aoki's corner, Kamogawa deems Iga a master of positioning. As Yagi notes that Iga isn't moving around much, Kamogawa adds that Iga is making his opponent move by manipulating Aoki into danger zones without him realising it. At Iga's corner, Baron figures that Iga was bored from trying to keep Aoki from going down while delivering powerful punches, so he orders Iga to finish him in the seventh round. In the seventh round, Aoki is outclassed by Iga until he loses by knockout after Shinoda is ordered by Kamogawa to throw the towel since the referee won't stop the match, claiming to not make it Aoki's loss as his corner can bear that burden. With Iga the winner, Baron grins and flicks off Aoki's side as they check on him. Aoki is carried out on a stretcher while Iga calmly leaves the ring.

Takamura confronts Baron about Aoki.

In a hallway at the venue, Baron is approached by an angry Takamura, who did not like Baron bringing violence into the ring. After Baron points out how Takamura is a hypocrite since he seriously injured others on his way to the top, Takamura attempts to punch Baron, however, Iga steps in and saves Baron by grabbing Takamura's arm as he was about to throw a punch. Before leaving, Baron and Iga are warned by Takamura that their actions aren't going to stand and that the day will come where they will whine like dogs.

The Duo's Decision

Due to the injuries, Aoki is taken to the Kawai Hospital. At the hospital, Kumi informs the Kamogawa gym boxers and staff that he is in stable condition, and once his swelling and fever go down, he will be examined by a specialist and most likely be released. Shinoda stays behind with Aoki, who is being looked after by Tomiko while everyone else leaves. Walking away from the hospital, Ippo congratulates Itagaki for making MVP in the tournament and believes that Aoki and Kimura will start over again and try again. However, Yagi tells him otherwise, as Aoki and Kimura were pushed to their physical and mental limits from those fights, and believes Shinoda, who takes responsibility may also quit, coming to a conclusion that no matter what happens, it will be the Kamogawa gym's turning point. At home, Kimura thinks that it is amazing that they lasted this long, and should be proud for hanging on, but it is time to hang it up. Later, Aoki becomes angry when Takamura visits him to only sing an insulting song about his surname "Masaru" and it's ironic meaning of victory. Upset about Aoki's attitude, Takamura threatens to drop him out of a window before dropping him when Tomiko arrives and saves him. Ippo and Itagaki go with Kimura to the hospital after he suggested to in order to visit Aoki. Along the way, Kimura tells Ippo and Itagaki that he is unsure on whether to quit or not, and has decided to let Aoki decide. However, when they get there, and Kimura asks Aoki, Aoki wants Kimura to decide whether they retire or not. After arguing, Aoki reveals that he will keep boxing in order to defeat Iga when he becomes champion, which Kimura also decides to stay for another chance at the title. At the Kamogawa gym, Aoki and Kimura informs Takamura that they will continue, however, Takamura suggests for them that they should seriously think about retiring.

Encounter at the Sushi Restaurant

Itagaki meeting Saeki at the Koedo Sushi.

After receiving his prize money, Itagaki takes his family to the Koedo Sushi as his treat. However, when they get there, Itagaki and Nanako are shocked to see Saeki as a chef there. While Itagaki wants to go somewhere else to celebrate, his parents are already eating. Itagaki feels down, but Saeki insists that he shouldn't look sad. Itagaki decides to eat and complains that Saeki is moving too slow as the sushi belt is empty. Saeki gets irritated and puts extra wasabi in his sushi in attempt to give to Itagaki. However, his father eats it instead and passes out from the spiciness.

Kamogawa revealing Ippo's match against Alfredo.

Later, Ippo is called to Kamogawa's office, where Kamogawa offers him a shot at the world, with the goal of fighting WBA champion Ricardo. Kamogawa explains to him that Ricardo only accepts boxers deemed worthy and ranked first, so Ippo, ranked seventh would be facing the second ranker from Mexico, Alfredo González. The next day at his house, Itagaki informs Ippo that Volg has a title match set up.