01x12 - The Anti-Dempsey Perfected

[bunniefuu]

Ippo-kun, you all right?

I'm fine.

I can still...

Ow...

Don't panic.

Fists of fire and a cool head. Those are the basics.

T-The basics?

You need to find a way to slip through those lefts.

You're in control of this match.

However, Makunouchi is still able to stick with it,
no matter how beaten up he looks.

Don't rush things, take your time, and hurt him more.

I don't like eating tough meat.

I will wait for him to slowly tenderize...

then devour him.

This is the fourth round!

The champion puts up a tight, Peek-a-Boo guard, swaying his body to and fro!

He's using his standard fighting pose here!

Wave your body, get back to the basics.

The basics!

He looks composed.

Didn't he take any damage from that last counter?

Let's feel him out.

The champion goes in!

He faces a storm of b*ll*ts!

But he dodges them!

He pays them no attention as he inches closer!

His recovery speed is incredible!

All that juking won't help you escape.

Whoa! He's taking some b*ll*ts as he goes in!

He's not even trying to get away.

Whatever he can't dodge, he blocks.

Is that why he's doing the Peek-a-Boo style?

He's within firing range!

Now that he's in...

An upper! The champion switches his attack pattern!

He pitches forward from that liver blow!

A double liver blow! But an elbow stops it!

So it's a head shot? I gotcha—

It was a feint?

Three body blows? He doesn't let up!

He throws up a right hand!

And another body blow just as he straightened up!

He barely blocks it!

But you can feel that force from here!

The challenger fires away!

But he's no match against that weaving!

I'm dodging him!

Has Sawamura-san's left become slower?

The champion's now weaving faster from side to side!

I guess all those body blows affected Sawamura's speed.

Miyata,

Sawamura has indeed demonstrated how good he is against an infighter.

But textbook techniques won't be enough to stop Makunouchi right here.

I'm not here to see his anti-infighter techniques.

What I'm here to see...

is his anti-Makunouchi.

I can do this! Here goes!

Here goes!

His anti-Makunouchi?

If Makunouchi is the best infighter in the country, then Sawamura is the best counterpuncher.

I don't see this match going by the books at all.

But look at that.

How does someone stop that?

Knock him down!

Take him out!

It's his for the taking, Takamura-san!

It can't be that easy.

What face is that b*stard Sawamura hiding behind those gloves?

He's strong! He really is!

But I need to hold on and bide my time.

The longer I wait to eat, the tastier the meat.

His back-and-forth is picking up.

It's only a matter of time before he breaks through.

No, hold on.

No matter how much speed he picks up,
those back-and-forths are just repeated motions.

Repeated motions?

But thanks to his amazing stamina,
Makunouchi can do that all day if he wants.

You can set your watch to it.

To any seasoned student of boxing,
that will make for a can't-miss counter.

And an anti-Makunouchi will appear,

when he prolongs that back-and-forth.

When he prolongs that back-and-forth?

What Sawamura's waiting for...

is the Dempsey Roll?

There it is! His secret weapon, the Dempsey Roll!

The challenger tightens his guard!

But can he withstand those heavy blows?

He stepped backwards to add some space!

Here it is.

I've been waiting for this!

A-A counter!

It's a left counter!

He was this close to claiming victory with his patented Dempsey Roll!

The Hall is stunned! Nobody makes a sound!

He grabs the ropes to avoid a down!

However!

However, there's no light in the champion's eyes!

He's lost his strength!

We can't blame him!

Following the Shimabukuro fight, this is the second time his Dempsey Roll has been crushed!

Other than that, this is a different situation here, folks!

Shimabukuro paid a heavy price back then.

But this challenger...

is unscathed!

He has perfected the Dempsey Crusher!

He...

He's done for!

The challenger slowly gets nearer!

Can the champion hit back?

What's this?

H-He's sizing him up! He's not finishing the job!

He's checking out how damaged the champion is!

The champion moves.

But his limbs are shaking!

Heck, is he even conscious?

Hit him back!

Make him pay!

You're fine!

He's not fine!

The Dempsey Roll was his deadly weapon!

Yet, his body felt the entire force of his own move!

It's a miracle that he's even standing.

The champion gathers up his strength!

But his legs give out!

That's the end of the fourth round!

The champion is saved by the bell!

Kid!

Do you hear me?! Am I getting through to you?!

I-I'm not going to lose...

If you're conscious, then don't talk!

If I lose to a man who makes a mockery of boxing...

Don't talk! Use this time to rest up!

I'm the champion.

If I lose, every boxer in Japan will be mocked.

I can't lose.

Kid...

He still has his spirit.

Even after having his Dempsey crushed and taking heavy damage, he still wants to fight.

Is he fighting this match with that amount of determination and sense of duty?

He's tender now.

The meat softened up after he lost his strength.

It was so yielding I could sink my teeth all the way through.

It used to be so tough and sinewy.

But now it's done.

That's the bell for the fifth round!

The champion makes his way on unsteady legs!

I'm not going to lose!

This is incredible!

The muscles are relaxed. The sinews are loosening up, one by one!

I live for that sensation!

It fills me up like nothing else!

Damn, you're so tasty!

Whoa! Another hail of b*ll*ts!

Your cheek is especially tender!

Oh god, this is the best meat possible!

Sawamura switched using his counters to keep him at bay for the offensive!

He also sped up the same b*ll*ts Makunouchi was dodging in the last round.

He was slowing them down for a reason.

So that he could dodge them.

Those lefts made that Dempsey Roll happen.

Everything was a well-laid path leading up to that counter.

So those attacks from Makunouchi were all part of Sawamura's plan?

I'm starting to drool!

Your meat is juicy, no matter where I slice it!

The champion fights back!

I need to eat you whole before I'm satisfied!

I'll chew you all the way to your skull!

A counter directly at the champion's head!

Nope, he escaped it by a hair!

I gotta stay conscious!

If I black out, it's all over!

Meat from an animal with a lot of stamina is always red.

He still has a small amount of fight left in him.

In order for meat to be tasty,

it has to be marbled with tiny specks of fat!

This is it!

Yes!

It tastes just as good as that steak.

Give me more!

Whoa, he's mercilessly trying to take the fight out of him!

The champion can't dodge him!

The fifth round ends with blood spraying everywhere!

The champion is once again saved by the bell!

Are you kidding me?

This is bad.

I figured as much back during training.

But I still didn't want this to happen!

The worst possible outcome.

The anti-Makunouchi. I can only tip my hat.

Miyata, is this what you wanted to see?

Is this what you wanted for Makunouchi?

He... He's strong.

If I don't focus on staying conscious, he'll knock me out cold.

I can still move.

I must take the fight to him while I'm still conscious!

Take it to him!

Just think about winning!

Aren't you sitting down, Sawamura?

That'll only mess with my rhythm.

It'll be like interrupting my dinner.

Start the round already!

Look at him standing majestically.

Do you see that, Kawabe?

The problem child you brought to me will soon become the national champ!

Ryuuhei...

Whoa! He rushes in at the sound of the bell!

And the one rushing in
is the severely wounded champion!

A counter, followed by the b*ll*ts!

The challenger isn't giving up his momentum!

You're amazing.

I heard Makunouchi-san is a very tough champion.

I thought even you were no match for him.

But you have more talent than anyone knows what to do with.

I was mistaken.

You'll continue to feel no empathy for other's pain,

you won't know the gratitude of working hard for something, and you'll lose your humanity.

Ryuuhei, what'll happen to you?

Stay conscious!

Take it... to him!

Oh! It's the Dempsey Roll!

Will he perish along with his beloved move?

He's looking to die with honor!

The Dempsey Roll involves high-speed hitting from two blind spots.

You don't see those heavy blows coming, which makes it very frightening.

But...

if you step back just a little,

you'll expose that move for just
a bunch of normal hooks they are.

Is that where you are?

It can't work anymore, Makunouchi!

I wanted to savor you for the longest time,
but if you're handing yourself on a silver platter...

I'll just skewer you in one stroke!

The Dempsey Crusher! He used his left last time...

Now, he's using his Lightning Right!

That's nothing like his left!

That right can actually k*ll you!

I don't care if he renders your move useless.

If he knocks you out cold,
you can always revive and try again.

But what if the unthinkable happens?

D-Don't!

He lands a direct counter!

He entombs the Dempsey Roll once again!

He landed a full right! A deadly blow!

He might have even...

k*lled you!

Don't blame me, kid!

H-He's still up!

He took a huge blow, yet he didn't go down!

The challenger looks on, stunned!

Th-That can't be!

That punch was supposed to knock his lights out.

But he's still standing.

He... knows about this counter!

He's been through it before!

If that was the first time, I wouldn't be standing.

The reason I'm still standing is, without doubt, because of Volg-san!

I can't let the help everyone gave me, and all the training I did go to waste!

No matter what happens to me, I won't lose!

I will win this fight!

Whoa! The wounded champion isn't giving up!

I must put my belief into everything I've been taught up to now!

Everything I learned I must put to practice!

You were just about done!

Yet you still think you can beat me?

Will he...

Will he come back unharmed?

He wasn't himself before this fight.

He was brooding way more than he usually does.

You're just squirming around like a worm, which is pissing me off!

No matter how tasty a slab of meat is, you'll puke if you eat too much of it!

Whoa! An elbow!

He just dropped an elbow on the champion's back!

What are you doing, Sawamura?!

Of course, that'll cost him a point!

Things are once again getting stormy in the ring!

Screw you, Sawamura!

What do you think you're doing?!

Are you stupid?

You were this close to becoming the champion.

Now, even if you do win, you'll still be isolated.

Your heart...

will remain locked up in that orphanage room.

Go on, curse at me.

I don't need your cheers anyway.

Grind your teeth as you see me win this fight.

You all right, Makunouchi? Can you fight?

Yes.

The champion goes in!

I'm sick of eating your meat.

I'm done.

I'm going to... put you down.

The challenger lands a barrage of hits!

He’s unleashing the wild animal inside of him.

At this rate, no one can stop him.

Coach! This is enough! The towel!

Throw in the towel!

He didn't fall because he was already aware of that counter.

And one more, there's one more reason...

Kid. I'm counting on that reason!

The champion's all but done for
as he's being pummeled!

You'll die. I'm going to k*ll you!

Where?

Whoa! Yet another Dempsey Roll!

The champion is definitely going down with his signature move!

He's using that useless move again?

You want to die before facing me, Makunouchi?

Senpai!

He's toast!

Kid!

Your secret weapon?

It's just a stupid pendulum move.

Here you come. You're flying in like the fool you are.

Even a tough guy like you won't be able to stand after I split your cranium open.

I'm going to end your life with this powerful right!

I-Impossible!

He stopped?!

C-Crap! I can't stop!