The Weak Champion is the forty-fourth chapter of Morikawa Jouji's manga series Hajime no Ippo.
Details
- Characters Introduced: Yasuda
- Locations Introduced: Ohtaki Boxing Gym
- Mentioned Boxers: Maxie Rosenbloom
- Title Page Character(s): Makunouchi Ippo, Kobashi Kenta
Summary
Preoccupied with about the incident with Kobashi, Ippo tells his gym mates, Takamura, claiming to know Kobashi's secret, gets in the ring with Ippo. At first, Takamura manages to somehow paralyze Ippo without touching him, but it is revealed he is only blowing into his ear. The coach, who ends the spar, tells Ippo to focus on himself and not his opponent and they begin to practice.
Meanwhile at the Ohtaki Boxing Gym, Kobashi is sparring when his opponent tells him to improve his punch. As he demonstrated the punch, Kobashi points out that it is easy to dodge, this angers his partner who mocks Kobashi's weakness. Kobashi's trainer calls him over for training, and encourages him, by letting him know that knockouts are not the only thing in boxing.
After training, Kobashi and his coach go to a restaurant where they discuss the possibilities of Kobashi (who is nervous about the match) defeating Ippo.