Check-in Station: Hajime no Ippo ch1009 (the road to the world title begins here)

I wouldn’t say it was done easily, but Sendo crushed Ippo in their spar.  Even in terms of mere psychology, it’s huge! I don’t blame the old man for being pissed.  Ippo has to be smarter than that.  Though I found it hilarious how the coach was more pissed that Ippo lost than anything.

The real news is that Ippo is giving up his Japanese title.  It’s the hugest moment of all because he’s leaving national level boxing behind forever.  His sole goal is the World Title.

This opens up things across the board. And gives the mangaka a lot to play with for the story.  Manabu Itagaki is finally free to take that title he could try for because Ippo owned it.  While Ippo is now able to challenge not just pacific league fodder, but actual world class talent.  The kind of talent that unfortunately left him unconscious in a spar…

I wonder what Takamura meant by stating that Ippo had gotten weaker.  He’s as usual worried about something we can’t see.  And considering that he’s a multiple time world champion, not just a buffoon, I think it’s important that someone pays attention to him.

This is a whole world opening up to Ippo now.  Watching are world champions Volg and Takamura, rivals like Miyata and Sendo; and the god-like “super champ”, Ricardo Martinez waiting at the summit.  I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.  Let’s hurry up and make it official.