A Passing Point Arc

A Passing Point Arc
Information
Volumes	56-61 (6 Volumes)
Manga Rounds	505-557 (53 Chapters)
Anime Rounds	14-21 (Season 3) (8 Episodes)
Chronology
Previous	Dragon Slayer Arc
Next	Spirit of a Weed Arc (Manga) Post-War Arc (Anime)

The A Passing Point Arc is the twenty-fifth story arc in the series, and the fourth and last of the Rising Saga.

Mamoru Takamura begins his challenge for his second weight class: the middleweight class. He faces against WBC middleweight world champion David "Golden" Eagle, who is also an Olympic gold medallist. As an undercard, Masaru Aoki goes up against Indonesian lightweight national champion Papaya Dachiu with the Coconut Punch, and Tatsuya Kimura fights the Filipino junior lightweight national champion Eleki Battery. As a semi-final, OPBF featherweight champion Ichirō Miyata defends his title for the fourth time against Thai boxer Medgoen Dachboy, who has Mr. Sakaguchi as his second.

Before the matches, Masahiko Umezawa leaves the Makunouchi Fishing Boat to pursue his dream of becoming a mangaka, Ippo Makunouchi goes to Kazuki Sanada as he is worried that Takamura may have a detached retina, a fishing tournament is held at the Makunouchi Fishing Boat between the Kamogawa Boxing Gym members, and Takamura and Miyata go on a training camp together.

Summary

A Manga Artist's Battle

Yamaguchi giving Ippo medical advice after fighting Sawamura.

Ippo goes to the Yamaguchi Chiropractic for a check-up from Yamaguchi. She claims that his left knee is still bad, advising him to not even do light exercising for a while. She adds that he must not rely so much on the Dempsey Roll, as it deals great stress on his body, and that increasing the speed of it can lead to early retirement as he continues to use it. While walking home, Ippo questions himself if there is truly a way to beat stronger opponents than Ryūhei Sawamura without the use of the Dempsey Roll, and reach his goal to face Ichirō Miyata. Umezawa drives by to pick Ippo up, and, on the way to his home, Umezawa tells Ippo that he can no longer work with them at the Makunouchi Fishing Boat family business, because he wants to pursue his dream to become a manga artist. Ippo eases his worries about the work load of the family business being put on just him and Hiroko as it was like that before he helped. When they arrive home, Umezawa proceeds to show Ippo his short work of the manga he created for a contest for new authors, which if he wins, his work will be put on the magazine about new manga artists. Umezawa claims that he wanted to make a boxing one, but wants to get serialisation experience first, so he is making a fishing manga as his debut. Ippo had called Itagaki to come by to get more opinions, but Itagaki has also brought Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura as well. When Aoki and Takamura starts reading it, they quickly fight over it and the latter rips in his half accidentally. Ippo gets angry at them as Aoki, Kimura, Takamura, and Itagaki run off. Ippo apologises, but Umezawa is fired up because they fought over his manga as they both wanted to read it. Umezawa decides to fix it and submit it to the contest, describing it like he is entering his own ring. That night, Ippo helps Umezawa repair his work, learning how long he spends drawing manga and would still help with the fishing business for so long.

Umezawa waving Ippo and Hiroko goodbye as he leaves their fishing boat company.

The next day, Umezawa eats with Ippo and Hiroko and thanks them for taking care of him. Umezawa decides to confess to Hiroko about him being the group of bullies that bullied Ippo in the past, however, Hiroko stops him in the middle of his confession, telling him to lift his head, as a person who is about to jump into a new world should always keep looking up and move forward. She tells Umezawa to do his best, and the latter gives his thanks before leaving. Umezawa walks away from the house, crying, as he remembers the memories he had there. As Umezawa was walking by, Ippo and Hiroko is on the boat, and Ippo yells out to Umezawa that, to him, they are acquaintances, classmates, co-workers, but most importantly, they are best friends. Umezawa gets tears in his eyes as he screams Ippo's name and waves goodbye to him. Later, at the Kamogawa gym, Ippo gets made fun of by Kimura and Takamura for using crutches, with the latter suggesting to retire already. Aoki and Kimura apologises to Ippo for causing Umezawa trouble, as Kimura plans to send flowers to Umezawa if his manga is a success and Aoki plans to invite him to Chūka Soba for all the ramen he can eat. Takamura claims that he has a surprise for Umezawa, a storyboard for "The Road to Becoming the World Champion", resulting in jeers from the three. Ippo goes to Kamogawa's office, as Kamogawa wishes to speak to him about his next match immediately.

Itagaki defeating his second opponent in the Rookie King tournament.

Kamogawa reveals to Ippo that the challengers that sent him challenge requests before his match against Sawamura have sent their challenges back. Kamogawa remembers calling him a "cheese champion" before his fight against Sawamura, but Ippo has showed everyone that he has improved by filling in the gaps. He tells Ippo that his next match is unclear, and to rest his body until his next match comes up. After Ippo leaves, Kamogawa wonders if they should move up to the next level as it seems there are no more opponents inside the nation. While walking home, Ippo sees Wanpo running towards him and thinks that it must mean his mother needs help with the boat. When Ippo gets home, he is shocked to see Itagaki and Nanako there helping her. Itagaki informs Ippo that Umezawa had called him and asked for him to help out at the boat in his absence. Day by day, Itagaki works with Ippo and Hiroko at the boat and realised how Ippo had strong muscles and a great sense of balance without partaking in any sports. On the night of Itagaki's second round of the East Japan Rookie King Tournament, Itagaki wins by knockout in the second round, feeling the affects of working at the boat. Later, Ippo thanks Itagaki for helping, as he was able to have time to rest and has recovered. Itagaki is shocked when he sees the amount of ice boxes he can carry. While doing roadwork with Ippo, Itagaki notices how Ippo is able to keep a constant speed over long distances as he is unable to catch up to him. Itagaki wishes for Ippo to keep moving further ahead, so when he catches up to him, it will be more thrilling, as he is his goal.

At the Makunouchi Fishing Boat, Ippo and Itagaki watch the world title match between WBA featherweight champion Ricardo, who is defending his title for the 21st time and an American challenger. Ippo and Itagaki can see Ricardo's powerful presence before the match starts. When the first round begins, Ricardo watches his opponent's moves with his guard up, then he hits his opponent with two left jabs as he was attacking, blocks the punch with his right fist, and finally lands a left jab counter that knocks the challenger out. The referee ends the match with Ricardo as the victor. Itagaki notices that Ricardo never rushes his fights since he can defeat his opponent at anytime. Itagaki believes that with his power, he could become an undisputed champion, wondering if he is particular about his record. Ippo notes that since Ricardo became a WBA champion for almost ten years, the belt has never moved, and he is also desperate for challengers, with the media claiming that any who challenge him are one of the courageous few. Itagaki suggests for Ippo to take on Ricardo in the near future, but Ippo tells him how he once sparred against him and got crushed. Ippo thinks that the gap between him and Ricardo seems bigger than what it was before, and that even with his New Dempsey Roll, the world stage is still far off and the technique won't work Miyata. as he only aims for counters for punches that are actually coming. Ippo starts talking about his first meeting with Miyata and the things they did before getting embarrassed as he was talking too much about it. Itagaki believes that Kumi and Nanako don't stand a chance with him. Itagaki sees the world champion is lees important than Miyata to Ippo, wondering what would he chase after when he finishes his fight against Miyata.

Kamogawa Boxing Gym Fishing Competition

Kamogawa gym's fishing competition teams.

Takamura, Aoki, Kimura, Kamogawa, Yagi, and Shinoda arrive to the Makunouchi Fishing Boat and meets up with Ippo, Itagaki, and Hiroko. Yagi tells everyone that they came to take everyone fishing to celebrate Ippo's recovery from his match against Sawamura. Ippo claims that Hiroko will cook everyone dinner with the fish they catch. When everyone sets out on the boat, Ippo is surprised by Yagi's knowledge on fishing after he mentions the fish that can be found in the area. Yagi suggests for everyone to catch fish in a competition by teaming up in pairs. Ippo and Itagaki have to work on the boat, so they are unable to while everyone else draws straws. Once drawn, the teams are Aoki and Kimura, Takamura and Kamogawa, and Yagi and Shinoda. While Yagi and Shinoda caught a lot of fish, and the former acted unusually competitive and picking on Takamura and Kamogawa, Aoki and Kimura caught some fish, and Takamura and Kamogawa caught none. Takamura, angry that he can't catch any, starts stomping around, shaking the boat, and makes Aoki fly off the boat and into the water. Takamura tries catching a fish, but catches Aoki instead. When everyone returns, Hiroko cooks everyone dinner. At dinner, Aoki yells at Takamura for laying down, which Takamura claims he is tired because a mosquito kept him up all night. Kamogawa announces that the WBC middleweight world title match has been accepted for Takamura, making everyone excited. Kamogawa also announces that the semi-final will be Miyata's OPBF featherweight title defence, and Aoki and Kimura will be fighting before the semi-final.

Rematch Spar: Ippo Makunouchi vs. Kyōsuke Imai

Ippo and Imai sparring for a second time.

When Ippo arrives to the Kamogawa gym, Kamogawa tells him to get ready to spar as he is greeted by Otowa gym's Imai who came with his coach. Itagaki gets angry at Imai, wanting to fight him so he doesn't bother Ippo, but Imai sees Ippo as a stronger opponent and is not worried about Itagaki seeing them spar even though their in the same tournament. Ippo agrees to spar, and tells Itagaki that he will push Imai to his limits so he learns his fighting pattern, adding that he thinks Imai was being disrespectful towards him. As Ippo steps into the ring, Miyata opens a window from outside, peeking in. Takamura asks why Miyata showed up, and Miyata claims that he is the one who invited him to go to a training camp together and has been waiting outside with his father for a while. Miyata decides to stick around to see Ippo and Imai spar. The spar of two rounds begin, and Ippo gets hit immediately with a left jab, making him realise that Imai is a lot stronger than the last time they sparred. Ippo gets hit with a right body blow and both boxers do a right-on-right dual exchange, however, Ippo is slower to recover and has to block Imai's punches. Ippo feels as if Imai has more brute strength than Shimabukuro. Ippo gets hit with a left hook and almost falls before recovering and trying to hit Imai again. The two rounds end, and Ippo is left exhausted while Imai is calm. Ippo wants to apologise to Itagaki for being beaten one sidedly, but Itagaki left.

Miyata explaining Ippo is like a bell.

Itagaki followed Miyata out of the gym and asks what he thought of the spar. Miyata deems it a horrible fight where Ippo was defeated. Itagaki believes that Ippo has not fully recovered from his last match, and if he was in his best condition, it would not have happened. Miyata asks if Itagaki is trying to defend Ippo or just doesn't want to admit his rival is strong. Miyata claims that he should be happy, since the stronger the opponent, the more fun he will have, adding that he would be very excited. Miyata takes off with Takamura and his father in the car. Itagaki overhears the Otowa coach boasting to Imai that when he becomes Rookie King, he should take on Ippo since he has nothing to fear, but Imai doubts the result would be the same in a real match. Itagaki knows Imai is not even worried about him, but he will not let him become Rookie King so easily. In the car, Miyata and Takamura talk about Ippo's loss in his spar against Imai, which shocks Miyata's father, who could not believe he would lose to a rookie, thinking that Ippo's strength is unstable. Miyata believes that it has to do with the "pitch", comparing him to a bell: depending on where and who strikes it, it will make a different tone of the sound. Miyata explains that the stronger the opponent, the greater Ippo develops himself, making him a dangerous type. Takamura wonders why when he hits Ippo, he doesn't make good sounds, and Miyata answers that he probably rang the bell so hard it broke.

At the Kamogawa gym, Kamogawa and Yagi sees that Ippo has become depressed after sparring against Imai. They believe that between the damage from Sawamura and having ring rust, anyone he fights would make him end up like that. They think that the spar had a good impact on Itagaki, as well as Aoki and Kimura, as they are fired up.

Training Camp

Miyata hitting Takamura.

At the training camp, Takamura and Miyata run in the sand at the beach. Miyata is unable to keep up with Takamura, who is going all out. When Takamura tells Miyata that he has to hold back a bit when training with the Kamogawa gym members, but Ippo is the only one who can keep up with him, it makes Miyata get fired up and pass him. Later, Miyata notices Takamura up early and follows him. Miyata is surprised to see Takamura fishing. Takamura tells Miyata that he has someone to show up with the results of the training camp. After seeing Takamura fail at catching fish a few times, Miyata comments that Takamura may not be suited for fishing, making Takamura give him his rod to try for himself. After Miyata fails as well, Takamura laughs at him, resulting in Miyata retaliating with a jab, cleanly hitting Takamura on his face, shocking Miyata because he thought he would dodge it. Miyata's father sees the two arguing and wonders why Takamura is fishing. Hearing that Takamura wants to face Yagi in fishing, Miyata's father warns that he should not try to challenge Yagi. Miyata's father tells Takamura how Yagi joined the Kamogawa gym around the same time as him, and when Yagi was in a losing streak, he offered Yagi to go hang out with him. When they went fishing, Miyata's father was horrified as Yagi's face turned demonic. He adds that Shinoda told him that there is a fishing pond that had a sign that said "no Yagi's allowed". Despite the warning, Takamura is determined to end the legend of Yagi. Miyata is still surprised he was able to land a punch on Takamura, thinking how he has never been that defenceless before.

Miyata and Takamura sparring.

Later, Miyata and Takamura began sparring without headgear on, as the former believes that middleweights can't keep up with a featherweight's speed. When the spar begins, Miyata uses his speed to go around Takamura while throwing punches at his guard. Miyata is shocked when Takamura manages to corner him without moving much at all. Miyata tries to get out of the corner with a counter, but Takamura knocked it away with his shoulder and then hit him with a body blow. After the spar ended, Miyata's father tells Miyata how Takamura cornered him while moving the shortest distance possible making him seem faster than he is. Later that night, Miyata encounters Takamura fishing again and failing to catch any fish. Miyata apologises for hitting Takamura the other day, which Takamura claims it only felt like a mosquito bite. Miyata asks Takamura if his counter is weak. Takamura answers that it is, because when he punches, his balance is off, cutting the power. Takamura orders Miyata to punch his hand so that he can show him how to recover his wasted energy. Miyata throws his punch at Takamura's hand and notices that Takamura didn't move at all from it. Takamura tells Miyata that he is pushed forward and uses all his strength in his chest and shoulders which is not good. Takamura has Miyata put his left close to his body while punching, making Miyata's right have more impact. Takamura explains that when he pulls his left hand away from his body, he forces him to use his chest, making it easier to throw the punch but makes it less effective, however, with the left hand close to the chest, it will pull the power from his back. He adds that it is why he has trouble throwing punches outside of a straight line. Takamura notes that another reason his stance has widened is because of his lack of stamina, advising him to run, even alone if he has to. Miyata asks if the training camp was for him, which Takamura answers that he just sucks so bad he couldn't watch it anymore, and also Miyata will always be one of his precious kōhai. Miyata thanks Takamura, walking away while thinking that Takamura should be focused on his match and all of his doubts about Takamura aren't disappearing.

At the Makunouchi Fishing Boat, Ippo, Itagaki, Aoki, and Kimura watch one of WBC middleweight world champion David "Golden" Eagle's matches, shocked by how powerful he is. After Aoki, Itagaki, and Kimura leave, Ippo gets a call from Miyata, which causes Ippo to be ecstatic. Miyata tells Ippo about how the training camp is going and asks Ippo if Takamura has been acting strangely or had accidents lately. Ippo claims that he hasn't. Miyata guesses that he just has been tense and was reading too much into it. However, after getting off the phone, Miyata feels as if something doesn't feel right. Ippo remembers Miyata telling him that Takamura described his punch as a "mosquito bite", and remembers that Takamura couldn't sleep one night because of a mosquito in his apartment, wondering what it means.

Later, Miyata's father thanks Takamura for the training camp, as it has been a while since Miyata has trained with anyone else, and his matches are getting harder to handle on his own. He adds how Miyata is the type of person who only listens to people he accepts as his superior, making him listen to any training Takamura tells him to do. Takamura comments how Miyata's father should have realised that his counter was weak and his next match would be harsh as he is now. Miyata's father admits he knew. He describes Miyata's punch as a knife, and in order to counterbalance the brittleness of his knife he learned the Jolt Counter, which has yet to be perfected. Takamura asks why he didn't tell Miyata. Miyata's father claims that he was waiting for the day Miyata would ask him, but now that Takamura gave him advice, Miyata's knife has been replaced with a katana. Miyata's father asks Takamura why he told Miyata the advice, since the counter is the Dempsey Roll's natural enemy. Takamura states that it was to make things more interesting, since if they fight, it should be a good one. Takamura sees Ippo and Miyata as his little underlings, not caring which one of them wins, but doesn't want to see one dominate the other. Takamura tells Miyata's father how him and Kamogawa must feel the same way, which is why they haven't scheduled their fight. Takamura tells him to just leave it to him, as sooner or later they will be ready, and he wants to see it as soon as possible.

Unnerving Theory: The Hawk's Detached Retina

Ippo meeting Sanada to ask for his advice.

Worried about Takamura, as seeing a mosquito that isn't there can be a sign of an eye problem, he meets up with Kumi, who he brought books from the hospital for eye problems. Ippo discovered from the book that the "mosquito" that Takamura claimed to see might be myodesopsia, which is known to be an early symptom of idiopathic retinal detachment, which if not treated, can lead to blindness. Connecting the dots by remembering how Takamura mentioned his eye hurting after his match with Hawk, and Itagaki noting that Takamura may be rushing giving up the junior middleweight belt, Ippo became worried about Takamura's eye. Wondering what to do, he goes to the Imperial College of Medicine and meets up with Kazuki Sanada. Sanada guesses that Ippo didn't come to ask for advice about boxing, even though he was looking forward to talking about the sport. Sanada tells Ippo how he has become stronger since he last fought him and that he doesn't fall anymore. Sanada mentions to him that him not falling down not only scares his opponent, but also the others watching, due to seeing him take damage that should knock him out but he still stands, which can lead to accumulated damage to his body. Sanada asks if he came to see him because of any symptoms due to accumulated damage like being unable to throw a straight punch or being incapable of dodging simple punches. Ippo declines, and claims that it is for someone else he can't say, and that it is about the eye. Inside the building, Sanada gives details the process and dangers of the retinal detachment. After the explanation, Ippo acknowledges that he has to take full responsibility to take his right to enter the ring away from Takamura for his safety if he does have retinal detachment.

Ippo talking to Takamura about his right eye.

As the training camp is finished, Miyata and his father drives Takamura back to his house. As Takamura goes inside, Miyata wonders how Takamura feels, because even though he has friends and a good environment to train in, as a boxer, there is no one on the same level to emphasise with him, which makes Miyata think that Takamura is lonely. Ippo decides to go to Takamura's house to ask him if he can see out of his right eye. After Takamura claimed to be able to see out of it and Ippo tested him by having him read out words from a magazine with only his right eye, Ippo is relieved that his suspicions were false.

Into Uncharted Territory

Takamura and Yagi fishing.

Takamura enters the Kamogawa gym for the first time since the training camp ended. He reveals to everyone that he will show the results of his harsh training. He demands Yagi to compete with him in fishing at his homeland. After Kamogawa agrees so that Takamura can take Yagi down, Yagi tells Ippo, Aoki, Kimura, and Itagaki that he will let Takamura win so he can prepare for the world title match with a good feeling. As Takamura and Yagi commence their fishing competition, Yagi, despite knowing that fish are biting, refuses to catch the fish to let Takamura win. However, Takamura keeps failing at reeling one in, making Yagi frustrated at him. Ippo, Kimura, Aoki, and Itagaki are worried about them, and, after hearing from Miyata that Takamura didn't catch a single fish at the training camp, the group rushes over to he fishing spot. They are shocked to discover that there is a sign that says "no Takamura's allowed". When they go back to the gym, they were shocked to see Takamura in high spirits and learned that the fishing match ended in a draw after Takamura went into the water and grabbed three fish, making the two fishers get thrown out.

Itagaki winning the quarter-finals of the East Japan Rookie King tournament.

With the entire card for Takamura's world title match against Eagle now known, Yagi announces that with Takamura fighting the WBC middleweight world champion Eagle, Miyata in the semi-finals will be fighting the third OPBF ranker Thai boxer Medgoen Dachboy in his fourth OPBF featherweight title defence. Yagi also reveals that Kimura will be fighting the Filipino junior lightweight champion Eleki Battery, while Aoki will be fighting the Indonesian lightweight champion Papaya Dachiu, who has a punch called the "Coconut Punch". While everyone laughed at Eleki's name, everyone laughed harder at Papaya's name, appearance, and imagining getting hit with a coconut. Takamura tells Aoki and Kimura if they don't win, they will have to get the same haircut as their opponents, causing the two to get fired up to win. Later, Itagaki fought against his opponent in the quarter-finals of the East Japan Rookie King tournament at the Kōrakuen Hall, winning by knockout after having a difficult time at first. Seeing his victory, Takamura believed that Itagaki was testing himself to see how much stronger he has gotten since training with Ippo. Walking home with Ippo with a swollen face, Itagaki asked if he looked more like a pro now before stopping himself, remembering how Ippo told him how he doesn't take his fights seriously after losing his debut match. After Ippo reminded Itagaki that he has two matches until the finals of the tournament, Itagaki wished to defeat Imai so that he can start to be proud.

With a month left before the matches, Kimura, while doing roadwork went to check on Aoki at the fishing spot since Aoki has been fishing in order to beat Yagi so that Takamura can call off the bet of getting Papaya's haircut. When Kimura got there, there was a sign that says "no Aoki's allowed" since Aoki got kicked out after he and Tomiko got obnoxious. Later, Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura go to their training camp under the supervision of Kamogawa and Shinoda. As the three boxers do roadwork, Shinoda mentions to Kamogawa how the three are hard workers, especially Takamura, who pushes the other two to work harder with his fighting spirit and determination. Kamogawa notes that even though Takamura went up a weight class, the difficulty of his weight control won't change too much. Shinoda asks Kamogawa if he thinks Takamura can conquer two weight classes. Kamogawa answers that he doesn't know, as Takamura is stepping in an uncharted territory for the Japanese, where there has never been a time where one has taken both junior middleweight and middleweight world titles.

Kamogawa and Takamura's discussion on taking the second world belt.

At the Kamogawa gym, Ippo, Itagaki, and Yagi look at the match poster for Takamura's world title match that has the words "A PASSING POINT". with Yagi noting that not many would consider a world title match a point of passage. As Takamura, Aoki, Kimura, Kamogawa, and Shinoda return to the gym, Takamura likes the look of the poster. As Takamura trains at the gym, Itagaki mentions to Ippo that since it is a Summer match, weight control for Takamura should be easier. Ippo doesn't think so, as he will be easily dehydrated and tired, but knows that he will still run under the blazing sun regardless. While Takamura is training under Kamogawa, the latter notices that after three minutes of running, it still isn't enough for Takamura to sweat. Takamura, even though his mouth is so dry, it is bleeding, pushes himself to ask Kamogawa if he will be happy if he took the belt. Kamogawa insisted on not being concerned about him, but would be a sight to see if he saw Takamura hold two world belts.

The Eagle Lands in Japan

Eagle arriving to Japan.

Eagle arrives at the airport in Japan for his upcoming WBC middleweight world title match against Takamura. He comments to the press that he came to Japan because Takamura interested him as he defeated Hawk, who was his greatest threat. While his aid planned to take him to his hotel for his dinner, Eagle wants to head to the gym instead, since he is worried about his rhythm after a long flight, wanting to get back into "fight mode" as soon as possible. Mari mentions to Fujii how despite coming from the same country, Eagle is nothing like Hawk. Fujii notes how Eagle doesn't hunger for glory, but has unwavering determination, and has survived through hard work rather than monstrous talent, making him a true champion.

Ippo gets an autograph from Eagle.

Kamogawa and Yagi walk to the Kawahara gym where Eagle is scheduled to do public sparring. Ippo tags along due to a chance to see Miyata. When they get there, they are surprised to see Eagle outside with a group of kids for autographs. Eagle calls Ippo over, and Ippo receives an autograph on the back of his shirt. Ippo is happy to get an autograph, while Kamogawa scolds him. Miyata talks to Ippo, Kamogawa, and Yagi through the window revealing that Eagle is giving out autographs to local children in hopes he inspires them to become an Olympian or a professional athlete. As Miyata notices that the spar is going to start soon, Ippo, Kamogawa, and Yagi are shocked to see Eagle's autograph of the back of Miyata's shirt. After watching Eagle defeat his sparring partners he brought with him from America with basic techniques, everyone was amazed. Miyata mentions to Ippo that Eagle's boxing style is the kind that Takamura hates the most, as the best thing to defeat his unorthodox style is a style like Eagle's: completely by-the-book boxing at an extremely high level. Miyata reveals to Ippo that he has something new and that during his fight in the semi-finals, he would show how he stepped up to the challenge just as Ippo did during the Sawamura match. Walking back to the Kamogawa gym, Ippo mentions to Kamogawa how Eagle seemed like a hero. After seeing Takamura outside the Kamogawa gym hitting children who asked for an autograph, Ippo deems Takamura to be pure evil.

Takamura and Eagle at their press conference.

Eagle is told to rest by his coach, however, Eagle knows that there is no overdoing it when it comes to Takamura, remembering how he changed Hawk, as the mere mention of Takamura's name made Hawk go insane. He feels that he didn't need to see Takamura spar since he wanted to experience how strong Takamura was in the ring. On the day of the weigh-in and press conference at the Yokohama Arena, Takamura and Eagle pass their weight check, with the former having to be completely nude to pass. Takamura goes to the press conference and comments that the title match is simply a passing point as the match poster says. Eagle states that he also thinks of the match as a passing point, planning to make this fight nothing more than a step down his path. However, he feels that he couldn't look beyond Takamura since he's Japan's hero of world class skill, believing that he must do his absolute best during the match. When Eagle goes to shake Takamura's hand, Takamura refused as he viewed Eagle's comment as something a rookie would say and left. While his staff thought Takamura was being rude, Eagle feels that Takamura's eyes were already in fight mode, making him in no condition to shake hands.

A Passing Point - Undercards - Masaru Aoki vs. Papaya Dachiu/Tatsuya Kimura vs. Eleki Battery

Kimura fighting Eleki.

The next day, at the Yokohama Arena, Ippo comes across coaches Date and Okita whose boxer just lost a match. Ippo thinks that coaching must be hard work and that the atmosphere of the arena could even get to a veteran boxer. In their waiting room, Aoki and Kimura are nervous and got surprised when Ippo and Itagaki barged in he room. After Aoki asked Ippo how he dealt with fighting in a large crowd as a semi-final for Takamura's last title match, and Itagaki mentioned how he wants to fight in a big crowd, Aoki and Kimura felt better. Aoki, Ippo, Itagaki, and Kimura goes to Takamura's room and Aoki and Kimura gets encouraged to win and is reminded about the haircut promise, further firing their desire to win. When Kimura's match against Eleki is about to start, Kimura walks to the ring, nervous about the haircut bet and the amount of people looking at him. When the match begins, Kimura is still trying to get used to fighting in a big crowd as he tries to get away from Eleki, however, Eleki is able to keep up. Within a minute of the first round, Kimura gets knocked down. After getting up, Kimura uses footwork and clinches to get away from Eleki to recover. Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Hiroshi and Isamu updates Aoki on how Kimura is doing, and brings Tomiko in the room to help keep him calm. Later into the fight, Kimura is shocked when he downs Eleki after barely hitting his body, realising that body blows are Eleki's weakness. Kimura is able to down Eleki a second time, however, the match ends after the ten rounds were up, and the decision ends in a draw. Kimura wishes Aoki good luck as he returned to the dressing room.

Aoki fighting Papaya.

Since Kimura's match ended in a draw, Aoki is hoping to heat up the cooled down crowd. When the match begins, Aoki plans to go for Papaya's supposed weak jaw, as he noticed a mole on in on the picture. However, when Aoki prepares to use his Frog Punch on his jaw, he gets shocked to see that the mole was now on his forehead, jumping away without attacking. He realises it was a trap when the "mole" dropped off his forehead. Aoki is able to hit Papaya, and gets him to the ropes, looking exhausted. Papaya looking hurt was only a trick of playing dead, which Aoki realises as he gets hit by Papaya's Coconut Punch, getting sent down. Kimura gets back into the audience with Ippo and Itagaki and notices that the punch Aoki was hit by was the Coconut Punch that Yagi mentioned. When he gets up, Aoki continues to get hit, unconsciously wondering if the haircut he would receive would look good. He then regains consciousness, deciding that it wouldn't, falling back onto the canvas after dodging a punch from Papaya. Since he didn't get hit, a slip is declared and Aoki gets up. Aoki continues to fight Papaya, failing a Look Away as Papaya was also trying to use it, until round four, where Aoki notices that Papaya is starting to excessively sweat. Realising that Papaya has poor stamina, Aoki gets into an in-fight exchange to tire him out more. Due to Papaya's strength, Aoki is also getting exhausted, making the match not go anywhere until the ten round match ends, and the decision ends the match as a draw. In Miyata's waiting room, Miyata's father informs Miyata that the audience is probably bored after two ten round draws and to heat up the arena for Takamura's sake. Miyata thinks that he should only think about how he will win.

A Passing Point - Semi-Final - OPBF Featherweight Title Match - Champion Ichirō Miyata (Fourth Defence) vs. Challenger Medgoen Dachboy (OPBF Rank 3)

Miyata fighting Medgoen.

When Miyata arrives to the ring. his father tells him to use the first round to observe, as he has no information on the challenger. Miyata notices that one of Medgoen's seconds were Mr. Sakaguchi, making his father warn him to watch out, as Mr. Sakaguchi may be out for revenge. When the match begins, Miyata quickly realises that Medgoen knows about his counters, being Mr. Sakaguchi's boxer, and won't come to him and attack. Miyata decides to throw quick jabs at his block and uses his fast footwork that makes the arena unable to look away, to go around him. Mr. Sakaguchi sees that Miyata improved his speed and abilities since his match against Gregory, realising Medgoen won't be strong enough. Miyata's attack on Medgoen's guard lasts up to the fourth round. After the fourth round, Miyata's father wonders what Mr. Sakaguchi and Medgoen are planning with such a passive strategy. Mr. Sakaguchi reminds Medgoen that he paid good money for him, and to fight like his life depends on it.

Miyata defeating Medgoen with a Cross Counter.

In the fifth round, Miyata breaks Medgoen's guard with three fast precise jabs. Miyata tries to hit Medgoen's face, however, Miyata was hit by a short left hook, which was too fast to counter. Miyata becomes agitated when Medgoen immediately returns to his defensive tactic. Miyata dashes to the centre of the ring, plants his feet, and begins an in-fight against Medgoen. Medgoen remembers when he met Mr. Sakaguchi. His daughter, Maria, was sick and on the brink of death. He didn't have enough money to pay for medical attention. He was approached by Mr. Sakaguchi, who offered Medgoen a lot of money to work for him, with a task to go a full ten rounds against Miyata. With the need for money to cure his daughter, Medgoen accepted without a second thought. In the present, after getting hit with a body blow, Medgoen tries to escape, but Miyata catches up and lands another body blow. After deciding to fight without holding back and defeat Miyata instead of trying to survive ten rounds, Medgoen attacks with another short hook that makes Miyata bleed even though he blocked it. Miyata begins countering the many left and right short hook combinations. As Medgoen didn't go down after receiving a lot of counters, Miyata prepares to throw a harder counter for the next short hook, however, Medgoen throws a straight instead, which Miyata dodges. Miyata lands a Cross Counter after Medgoen threw a left straight, causing him to go down. When Medgoen gets up, Miyata throws another Cross Counter when Medgoen attacked, this time putting his left hand closer to his body just as Takamura taught him in the training camp, landing the counter and downing Medgoen. The referee stops the match, resulting in Miyata's victory.

In Thailand, Maria is back in good health and asks Chana if Miyata is strong. Chana says that he is very strong and he has never seen a boxer throw a counter like him where it is like Miyata holds his opponent's life in his hands when he throws a punch. Maria claims that she doesn't care if he gets the champion belt, as she just wants him to come back home.

Miyata posing after defeating Medgoen.

Miyata is dissatisfied with how he threw the counter, however, his father insists to not rush things. As Medgoen is still down, Mr. Sakaguchi doesn't care about what happens to him, as he was able to see Miyata's greatest flaw during the match, wanting to begin his search for another boxer. Before leaving the ring, Medgoen tells Miyata "อย่าแพ้" (yaa phae) which means "don't lose" in Thai, which Miyata understood, and plans to not lose to anyone. When the crowd shouts for Ippo and Miyata, Miyata assumes that Ippo is in the audience, watching. While he is glad the crowd was excited for a match with Ippo, Miyata suggests for his father to make it happen. Miyata's father reflects on how Ippo and Miyata were no name boxers when they first fought and believes that they will fight for who's the best in the pacific region and get a one way ticket to the world. In Takamura's waiting room, Takamura is a bit nervous, but with the encouragement from Ippo, Aoki, Kimura, Itagaki, and Date, he prepares to go to the ring in high spirits.

A Passing Point - Main Event - WBC Middleweight World Title Match - Champion David Eagle (Third Defence) vs. Challenger Mamoru Takamura (WBC Rank 3)

Eagle enters the ring.

As the entrances for Takamura and Eagle are about to start, Aoki, Itagaki, and Kimura are surprised to see Nekota in the audience next to them. Ippo is running to the bathroom when Miyata stops him. Miyata tells him that he needs to confirm something with him, but when the audience is focused on Takamura and Eagle, then they will go back to the audience so they don't draw in the attention. Takamura makes his entrance, and, once in the ring, Kamogawa tells him that he can go as wild as he needs to. With the audience cheering loudly for Takamura, Eagle enters the ring with a focused look about him. Everyone in the audience are surprised he isn't easygoing like Hawk, and even though he is American, he is like a samurai ready for a duel. Ippo and Miyata enter the audience area, and Miyata asks what he came to Ippo for to confirm: about Takamura's right eye. Ippo says that Takamura is fine because he could read the small print on a magazine far away. Miyata is shocked Ippo didn't take him to the hospital, as he could have just memorised what was written on the magazine. While Ippo is worried about Takamura, Miyata claims that if Takamura says he can see, they will just have to believe him. Takamura asks Kamogawa if he wants the belt. After Kamogawa gets pressured by Takamura into admitting he wants the belt, Takamura and Eagle walk to the centre of the ring with a serious look.

Takamura fighting Eagle.

When the first round begins, Takamura and Eagle dash towards each other, and both boxers land a left jab on each other's guard, but Takamura's had more impact. They both proceed to stand still while throwing jabs, not landing any clean hits until Takamura grazes Eagle's face, knocking him off balance. Takamura takes the chance to deliver a follow-up right straight, but it gets dodged. After Eagle retreats and takes on a defensive stance, Takamura follows and thros punches at the guard, unknowingly being brought to the ropes due to Eagle stepping forward while blocking. Angry that it looks like he is being intimidated, Takamura hits Eagle's block until it breaks. Takamura prepares to throw a punch, however, he notices and barely dodges a left jab counter from Eagle. With Eagle simply staring at him, Takamura lowers his guard to try to get Eagle to attack, but it fails. Takamura proceeds to throw out combinations on Eagle's guard until it broke. Before being able to attack, Takamura immediately dodges a barrage of jabs. As Takamura dodges, he came close and threw an uppercut that he stops as the first round ends. In the corner, Takamura plans to up his pace in the next round as he feels his body is lighter despite going up a weight class. In Eagle's corner, he only listens to his coach's advice while closing his eyes until the second round begins.

Takamura's attacks getting dodged.

In the second round, Takamura attacks Eagle's guard until Eagle is able to read Takamura's attacks and dodge, resulting in Takamura getting hit. Takamura realises that Eagle is pulling his punches and gets irritated, making Takamura swing wider, which Eagle punishes with a full powered counter that makes Takamura legs buckle. Takamura backs into a corner and blocks Eagle's punches until Takamura gets out by throwing punches from unusual angles that knocks Eagle's block and sends him to the middle of the ring. Takamura goes forward, avoiding Eagle's lefts and attempts to land a clean hit with wild swings, landing an uppercut on a two handed guard below Eagle's jaw, lifting Eagle up in the air slightly, with the second round ending shortly after. In Takamura's corner, as Takamura grows irritated at how Eagle is fighting, Kamogawa advises for Takamura to save his energy being used for trash talking and to use it for the fight, as he observes that there is a strong chance he will need both his physical and mental strength

In the third round, while throwing huge swings at Eagle, Takamura gets countered, which resulted in his knee touching the canvas, causing a down to be declared. Takamura gets up, and angrily swings at Eagle, missing, until he is hit with a counter. The counter makes Takamura lose balance and almost falls before hopping onto the nearby ropes to cling on as the third round ends. At the corner, Takamura tells Kamogawa not to worry, as he has a plan to keep on punching until he lands a punch. At Eagle's corner, his seconds tell him that the plan that was made to go against Hawk is working on Takamura, as they are very similar boxers. However, Eagle reveals to them that he is barely hanging on, as dodging and countering Takamura's punches make him nervous. As the boxers head out for the fourth round, Kamogawa tells Takamura to change the pace by throwing more punches, while Eagle's seconds tells Eagle to focus and stick to the plan.

Takamura hitting Eagle while clinched.

In the fourth round, Takamura misses his widely-swung punches while getting occasionally countered. Takamura takes the chance of leaning onto Eagle to make him unable to escape, and hits him with a body blow. With the champion hurt, Takamura throws sharper combinations that don't land cleanly. Eagle retreats, and is trapped at the corner. Not wanting the opportunity to be wasted, Takamura goes forward and stretches his arms out to block both of Eagle's escape routes. Takamura launches both of his fists at Eagle, however, Eagle pushes into Takamura and as Eagle changes his position to escape the corner, Takamura hits him with a liver blow. With Eagle back into the corner, Takamura attacks, and when Eagle tried to clinch, Takamura hits his body while clinched. Takamura continues hitting Eagle until he is stunned from one of the attacks. Takamura begins to throw a big punch at the defenceless Eagle, however his fist gets caught in the ropes, stopping his punch. As he was about to send another one, Takamura is stopped by the referee due to the fourth round ending. In the corner, Takamura reveals to his seconds that the tactic that gave him an advantage was not his plan, but because he remembered all the lectures and repetitive training Kamogawa gave him in the past. In Eagle's corner, he expresses how lucky he is to have survived, but feels as if he could turn things around now that he survived

Takamura getting a cut above his left eye.

In the fifth round, Takamura goes toward Eagle and knocks his tight guard away by remembering how Kamogawa taught him. Takamura follows up with a right straight, knocking Eagle down. As Eagle gets back up, Takamura is bothered by the champion's eyes. Takamura attacks Eagle's guard until Eagle repeatedly throws one-twos that Takamura dodges while noting how Eagle is just like Ippo, especially Eagle's eyes that never give up. Takamura and Eagle hits each other in an exchange that results in Takamura getting a cut above his left eye, which blood emerged out of and into his eye. With blood going into his left eye, Takamura is unable to see out of it. In the audience, Miyata tells Ippo that they can now confirm if Takamura can see out of his right eye now that his left eye is injured. Despite Eagle having the advantage, Takamura is angry as Eagle isn't aiming for the cut, but Takamura's body at close range. Takamura clinches Eagle to ask him if he is avoiding attacking the cut on purpose, however, Eagle doesn't understand Japanese. After Takamura pushes Eagle, he is hit with body blows while Takamura misses his punches until the fifth round ends. In the corner, Kamogawa stops Takamura's bleeding while Takamura is irritated about how Eagle is avoiding attacking the cut. in Eagle's corner, his seconds tries to tell him to go for Takamura's wound to force a doctor stop, but Eagle declines.

A cut appearing above Eagle's right eye.

In the sixth round, Takamura, after throwing a wide punch, headbutts Eagle, causing a warning from the referee and a bleeding cut above Eagle's right eye to bleed. Takamura goes into Eagle's new blind spot and aims for the cut, making it worse even though Eagle was guarding. The audience jeers at Takamura for being unsportsmanlike since Eagle was not aiming for his cut. When Eagle drops his guard to attack, Takamura responds by hitting his temple with a left hook, almost making Eagle fall. Takamura puts Eagle in a corner after hitting his block and, after getting hit, Takamura hits Eagle with a right. As Eagle falls, Takamura gets grabbed by him in a clinch until the referee breaks it off. Takamura is immediately hit with a one-two and Eagle proceeds to hide in Takamura's blind spot until the sixth round comes to an end. In their corners, Eagle and Takamura's bleeding above their eyes are stopped by their seconds. Eagle knows that Takamura is aiming for his cut because he is only interested in winning and acknowledges that his will is incredible, having to defeat him with everything he has.

Takamura and Eagle's call to continue the match.

In the seventh round, Takamura and Eagle immediately enter the centre of the ring and enter an exchange match with neither afraid of hitting the cuts above their eye. Their hitting match gets interrupted when the referee called for a doctor check on both boxers due to severe bleeding. While the doctor was wanting to stop the match and crown the victor by a point decision, Takamura, Eagle, and the crowd protests to continue the match. The doctor and referee decides to let the match continue, and the seventh round ends shortly after. In the corner, while Kamogawa is having trouble stopping the bleeding due to it being too deep, Takamura's bleeding stops by itself due to huge amounts of adrenaline being produced in his body. At Eagle's side, Eagle's seconds are able to temporarily stop the bleeding, while also cutting Eagle in a way to make the blood not get into his eye if the cut opens up again.

Takamura's finishing blow on Eagle.

In the eighth round, Takamura and Eagle commence another exchange match in the centre of the ring. Takamura's right eye begins to swell and blood gathers into his left eye from Eagle's attacks. With poor vision on both eyes and getting hit, Takamura sees only Eagle's shoes and knocks himself and Eagle down with a right hook, causing a double down. After both boxers get up, Takamura is hit with one-twos and is brought to the ropes. Seeing only Eagle's shoes, Takamura fights back in a hitting match. While imagining Kamogawa holding his mitts up for Takamura to hit, Takamura lands combinations on Eagle until he goes down. Not being able to see anything, Takamura continues punching afterwards until Kamogawa stops his punch with his hands and shows him Eagle looking defeated as the referee announces Takamura as the winner and the new WBC middleweight world champion.

Takamura celebrating his win as the new middleweight WBC champion.

Eagle approaches Takamura and shakes hands while thanking him. After Yagi gives Takamura the junior middleweight WBC belt and the new middleweight WBC belt, and being lifted up by Aoki, Takamura celebrates his victory. After the reporters leave, Takamura begins to leave the Yokohama Arena before being stopped by Yagi to get his belts. Takamura claims he doesn't need the belts once he gets them, and insists for Kamogawa to have them. Kamogawa is happy with not only having two world belts, but seeing Takamura work hard, viewing his relationship with Takamura as more than a trainer and student, but as the world's greatest surrogate son. When Takamura goes outside, he is cheered loudly by his friends, which annoys him. Takamura and his friends plans to party, however, Ippo is tasked to make sure Takamura goes straight home to sleep. Takamura is followed by his friends to his house and they watch him try to sleep. Since Takamura can't sleep, he throws everyone out of his house.