Yūsuke Oda (小田 裕介, Oda Yūsuke) is a retired featherweight boxer from the Nishikawa Boxing Gym who became a trainer at the same gym, helping out his former trainer, Mikami and new boxers.
Background[]
Oda became a boxer around the same time as Kimura Tatsuya[1] and Kojima Hisato. He won his pro debut as a junior lightweight with only one punch from his right, knocking his opponent out and winning his coach's praise.[2] Sometime later, he moved to the featherweight class.[3]
History[]
Part I[]
Early Days Arc[]
Oda meets Ippo at the weigh-in.
When his next match was against Makunouchi Ippo, Oda believed it would be easy, as his opponent was just starting. Even though he was told not to, he met with Mikami Reiko at the Riky's. She became worried about Oda's weight control, however Oda believed he would not lose. Mikami, his coach, caught him with his daughter and made a scene. He warned Oda about Ippo and took Reiko away from him until he changed his attitude.
Oda heard from Reiko that his opponent's friends were calling him pathetic and claimed that she would leave him if he loses. With the thought of Reiko leaving him and the insults from his opponent's friends, he went to his coach and began training harder than he did before.
At the weigh-in before the bout, he surprised everyone when he displayed the body he has acquired with his recent training. Before leaving, Ippo attempted to greet Oda, but the latter angrily ignored him, as he thought he was being made fun of.
The day of the match arrived and when the bell rung, Oda had a disadvantage from the beginning, but an accidental cut gave him the upper-hand. Taking advantage of the situation, Oda aimed for the cut on his opponents forehead but was ultimately defeated by a series of quick jabs. Even though he lost, due to the return of his old love for boxing he was able keep both Reiko's love and the trust of coach Mikami, who told him they would win next time.
Part II[]
Blind Step Arc[]
Oda talking to Mari about Kojima during an interview.
While training boxers at the Nishikawa gym, he was called over by Mikami since the reporter, Īmura Mari wanted to talk to him. Oda went with her to the Soehiro to be interviewed. During the interview, Oda told Mari that he felt motivated after his match with Ippo, however, he thought that he didn't have what it takes to compete with monsters like Ippo, so he ate a lot more and retired. Since Oda knew about Kojima Hisato, who was going to fight Ippo, Mari wanted to hear details about him. He explained to Mari that Kojima was a nice guy who could not use his right fist due to his punches being so powerful that his fist broke twice, making him have to fight with only his left. He also revealed to her that Kojima is a big fan of Ippo who would always ask him about his match with Ippo.
Part III[]
Importance of the Support Role Arc[]
Oda at the Date gym's sparring tournament.
When the Date Boxing Gym held a sparring tournament for boxers who haven't debuted yet, Oda was on of the trainers to go with his students. When Ippo arrived with his students Kintarō Kaneda and Aoki Taihei, Oda got introduced to them. As the sparring tournament was finishing up, Fujii showed up and revealed to everyone that Sendō was able to down Ricardo in a spar, and that Sendō was going to fight Alfredo, with the winner earning the right to challenge Ricardo. Oda was amazed by the news, and thought it was Sendō's strength after the weigh-in and weight control. Oda decided to ask Ippo if he could still fight or not, as with Ippo's strength, it is a waste not to fight, adding that since Ippo was his generation's role model, Ippo not fighting is giving them a bad name. However, Okita Keigo told Oda that since he retired, he should relate.
Match History[]
| Match History | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Result | Record | Date | Opponent | Location | Time | Type | Notes |
| Retired | ||||||||
| 6 | LOSS | 3-3-0 | 1990-01-03 |  Ippo Makunouchi
|
Tokyo, Japan | 3(4), 2:35 | TKO | Retires after match |
| 5 | LOSS | 3-2-0 | 1989 | Unknown | Japan | 4(4), 3:00 | Decision[4] | |
| Unknown Opponents | ||||||||
| 1 | WIN | 1-0-0 | 198X | Unknown
|
Japan | 1(4) | KO/TKO | Pro Debut Match |
Spars[]
- VS Kojima Hisato (many times)
Appearance[]
Oda's change in appearance in the story
Before retiring, Oda had a well-built body, after retiring, he gained weight and is now overweight. Oda has dark brown hair that is slicked back, slightly large eyebrows, his nose is medium-sized and pointed, and his eye colour is dark grey.
Personality[]
Before retiring, Oda was a brash, somewhat lazy individual who hated to train and enjoyed going on dates. When his love interest told him that she was embarrassed by his lazy attitude, he soon started to work much harder. However, Oda soon realised that boxing was not for him and subsequently gained a large amount of weight after quitting the sport. Despite this, he was visibly far happier than previously seen, the weight of boxing being lifted from his shoulders.
Boxing Abilities[]
Oda is a hard puncher and boasts a powerful right straight, that even when his trainer, Mikami first saw Oda put it on display during his debut, he thought that a world title might not be just a dream any more.
Weaknesses[]
In spite of Oda's potential, it was ultimately wasted due to his lazy behaviour and reluctance to train, preferring to spend time loafing around, or dating his trainer's daughter Reiko. The result of this was poor conditioning and Oda lost two of his six bouts due to his lack of stamina. While he is a hard puncher, he was still outclassed by Ippo Makunouchi, despite the latter's inexperience, due to his stamina and punching power being more effective than his own.
Etymology[]
- The name Yūsuke means "abundant" (裕) (yū) and "help, assist" (介) (suke).
- Yūsuke's surname Oda means "small" (小) (o) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta/da).
Gallery[]
References[]
|