Back Alley is the 256th chapter of Morikawa Jouji's manga series Hajime no Ippo.
Details
- Characters Introduced: None
- Locations Introduced: None
- Techniques Introduced: None
- Mentioned Boxers: None
- Title Page Character(s): Makunouchi Ippo, Kamogawa Genji, Shinoda Tomoyuki, Yagi Haruhiko, Sendou Takeshi
Summary
After barely surviving the round, Ippo is told by Kamogawa, that Sendou will set the pace by landing hits regardless of his punches hitting the target or the guard, so in order to stop him, he must hit first.
Meanwhile on the champion's corner, Yanaoka recognizes the challenger's corner are in panic, and that the round was won by Sendou. Sendou tells himself he must finish it in the same round he was defeated the first time.
Ippo intends to go after Sendou and be the first to attack but finds himself frozen in the middle of his attack, and receives a punch he manages to block. He sees the opportunity for another, but stops again at the sight of Sendou's smash, which he dodges. This continues as Sendou appears to throw a punch that stops Ippo, but throws a different one at the end. Sendou keeps hitting a guarded Ippo and is disappointing at the fact that he is only guarding. It is then revealed that the reason for which Ippo is backing up, is due to Sendou's feints that have sakki behind them. Ippo is in so much fear that even when Sendou is no longer hitting, he still backs up, eventually cornering himself.