Template:BoxerKarasawa Takuzou (唐沢 拓三, lit. karasawa takuzō) is a semi-recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. He is a featherweight out boxer affiliated with the Kinoshita Boxing Gym. At one point in his career Karasawa challenged Makunouchi Ippo for the JBC title, only to be defeated in the second round. He fought Itagaki Manabu later and lost within the same timeframe.
His surname is Karasawa. In Japan, surnames are listed before given names.
History
After the retirement of his senpai Sanada Kazuki, Karasawa notices that the Kinoshita Boxing Gym has begun to pale in comparison to other gyms. Determined to bring glory and a bright future back to his gym, Karasawa fought up the ranks to challenge Makunouchi Ippo for the JBC Featherweight title. He claims that he thought of a perfect strategy to counter the Dempsey Roll, and worked specifically on his midsection so he would be able to tank Ippo's Liver Blows.
Karasawa is still devastated during the match. His strategy to counter the Dempsey Roll is foiled when Ippo seals the Dempsey Roll and returns to basics, cornering Karasawa several times with pressure and eliminating him almost exclusively with lefts. He loses by second round KO.
Later, Karasawa is seen in the resting room where Sanada and his coach are conversing with him. Karasawa notices the unfairness and difference in strength between him and other boxers, but resolves to start over and continue boxing.
He is seen again in the Class-A Tournament against Ippo's protégé Itagaki Manabu. Initially he gains the upper hand on Itagaki using a speed-up/slow-down technique with his hand speed, but Itagaki unleashes his true potential mid-fight, resulting in Karasawa's loss and disqualification from the Class-A Tournament.
He is seen again in recent chapters with Saeki Takuma expressing his thoughts of retirement and joining the work force.
Match History
| Result | Opponent | Type | Rd. Time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOSS | Itagaki Manabu | KO | 2(10),2:13 | 1997-09 | Tokyo, Japan | Class-A Tournament Round 1 Loss |
| LOSS | Makunouchi Ippo | KO | 2(10),2:15 | 1995-10-03 | Tokyo, Japan | Challenge for the Japanese Featherweight Title |
Successions
| Preceded by | Title | Succeeded by |
|---|---|---|
| Shigeta Akira | All Japan Featherweight Rookie King | Hoshi Hiroyuki |
| Shigeta Akira | East Japan Featherweight Rookie King | Itagaki Manabu |
Appearance
Karasawa has a very standard appearance as opposed to many other characters in the series. He is of average height and build for a featherweight boxer with a long reach to support his regular out boxing style. He has black unkempt hair grown at neck-length, eyebrows of average thickness and dark colored pupils. It is mentioned by his coach that Karasawa has a very aptly built midsection capable of withstanding extremely powerful attacks (this assumption was quickly rebuked by one of Makunouchi's power punches however).
Personality
A very determined and kindhearted boxer with pride for his boxing gym, Karasawa trained ceaselessly for the sake of bringing glory back to his gym after the retirement of Sanada Kazuki and has shown to possess an extreme amount of strong-will, determination and spirit, refusing to fall after being hit by one of Makunouchi Ippo's powerful body blows. He has a keen amount of boxing sense and confidence in pre-made tactics.
Like Sanada, he realizes after his match against Ippo that unfairness is abundant in the boxing world. Regardless, he decides to continue with boxing, but is shown in later chapters to be considering retirement and joining the workforce.
Fighting Style
Karasawa is an outboxer who is distinguished as having possibly the best handspeed in the featherweight class. He uses textbook outboxing by going in anti-clockwise circumference and always trying to stay on his feet. When the situation calls for it Karasawa can increase and slow down his handspeed to throw off other outboxers. This particular strategy worked against Itagaki Manabu until the latter unlocked his true potential.
Techniques
Weaknesses
Karasawa is regarded as the most orthodox out boxer in the series, and as such his moves are highly predictable. He lost to Ippo from a counter developed specifically against cornered outboxers and was called "predictable" by the then-rookie Itagaki Manabu, who also fought in the out boxing style.
Prior to his match with Itagaki, Karasawa also had trouble taming his facial expressions during a match. He is often seen talking to himself when distressed.
