01x19 - Hawk vs. Eagle

[bunniefuu]

Thanks for waiting. We will now begin the WBC World Middleweight Title Match!

This is it, eh?

Good. I done made it in time?

"I done"?

Nekota-san! You came?!

What the hell took you? You missed our fights!

Are yew kidding? I sure as heck watch yer fights.

Those were some mighty fine KO's.

He didn't see it.

Where'd that Makunouchi go?

He was so nervous he had to use the restroom.

I have to run, or else I won't see his entrance!

Wait!

Miyata-kun!

Congratulations on your KO win!

You can save it.

There's something more important I need to ask you.

It's about Takamura-san.

Eye problems?

Yes.

Probably his right eye.

He'll need a diagnosis, but in the worst-case scenario, he has a detached retina.

Y-You're kidding!

If that's true, he can't fight any matches!

I'm just voicing my suspicions.

Have you noticed any changes with Takamura-san?

I don't know.

Hopefully there's none, then it could be just a groundless fear.

But if by some outside chance that's actually the case, then I'm afraid...

we'll have to stop the match.

His entire career would be in jeopardy.

The challenger will now proceed to the blue corner!

Here he is!

The former WBC Junior Middleweight Champion, Takamura Mamoru!

Yeah!

This real go-getter, who said sweeping two weight classes is just a mere "passing point," is approaching the battlefront!

I know you love these huge stages.

Now raise hell like only you can.

Yeah!

Let's go, Takamura!

I'm counting on you!

You're the champion!

You'll win!

There's no way you can lose this!

And now the champion will proceed to the red corner!

Takamura's tough, you know!

Just leave your belt and scram!

The Olympic gold medalist, who later made it to the top of the heap after only 15 professional fights.

All he knows is glory.

However,

his natural talents are impeccably honed by his hard work and determination!

The Super Champ is standing before Takamura!

And here he is, the Golden Eagle, David Eagle!

In the red corner, weighing in at 158 and three-quarter pounds,

the American WBC Middleweight Champion,

David "Golden" Eagle!

In the blue corner, weighing in at 160 pounds and hailing from Kamogawa Gym,

the third-ranked WBC Middleweight boxer,

Takamura Mamoru!

I hope you're all right, Takamura-san.

You see that?

See what?

That belt!

Quit looking so greedy! You'll be getting it soon, old man!

I'm not the one who's getting it!

So you don't want it?

N-No, I do.

You say something?

Dammit! I said I want it!

Is that right? So you do want it?

Both fighters are beckoned to the center.

Will Takamura sweep two weight classes?

Or will the champion crush his ambitions?

The man's too slick.

And he was goofing off just a second ago.

The referee's done giving out instructions,
and both fighters return to their respective corners.

And now, the match you've all been waiting for is about to begin!

Keep your eyes peeled! He's going to come out swinging!

Who?

Both of them!

There's the bell!

It's Hawk vs. Eagle! The battle between the two biggest birds of prey is on!

The champion's left strike!

That jab looked like a straight!

Too soft!

The challenger's left hand comes heavy!

I ain't sizing you up!

Be prepared to be pounded backwards!

The lefts come back and forth! But no clean hit!

Though those punches still put you on edge!

They're both trying to overpower the other.

If one can accomplish that, he'll have all the momentum he needs.

It's fine!

If he can match those speeds, his right eye isn't posing a problem!

Yeah.

In any case, whoever wins this tit-for-tat will maintain the advantage.

The champion got hit!

Takamura has the opening hit!

Followed by a right hand!

It just scratched the cheek!

The champion is jumping back!

He's certainly getting more cautious!

After that exchange of lefts, the champion is putting up a guard!

He's turned into a g*dd*mn baby box turtle.

I'm gonna tear that shell apart!

The challenger goes in!

Those hits pack a lot of power!

Yes! He's got the initiative!

Maybe it's because he's back to the middleweights, but he seems a lot stronger now.

That's a tight guard, all right.

But... his body's laid bare for my hits!

However, that cool gaze of his doesn't sit right with me.

Does he want me to go for the body? Or...

Whoa! The challenger's hit the ropes!

He's the one who went in, but over time...

There are several ways of putting the pressure on someone.

One way is to corner someone without using your fists.

Takamura will definitely not be fighting this kind of match.

When that happens, his one weakness might get exposed.

A weakness?

It's an objective fact that Takamura is a natural when it comes to slugfests.

His animal instincts in hunting down his prey are truly one of a kind.

But this is boxing, not a street brawl.

When one's caged in a ring, there's one thing that can beat those instincts.

The champion approaches him slowly!

You as*h*le!

You made it look like I ran away scared!

The challenger goes flying in again!

But the champion puts his guard up!

The body's open.

Is he baiting me?

What now?

He ain't baiting me! He's just desperately blocking me!

I can just dig into his body and take the fight!

No!

That's what a stupid scrub would think!

But I'm taking the hard road since I'm that good!

I'll show you I'm nothing like your other opponents!

Wow! What a counter!

He just barely dodged it!

What was that?!

That straight looked like a javelin!

I-If he took that...

That was close.

Dammit! So he was looking for a head shot?

He's frickin' clever.

He gives an icy stare through the guard!

Now the pressure's on the challenger!

I'm not being pressured!

Come on! I'm letting you hit me!

He's taunting him!

He has his guard down and a "punch me" sign up!

But the champion isn't biting!

Instead, he's maintaining his cool stare!

Shithead!

You think you can win without hitting?!

It's the challenger who loses patience!

His wild punches are coming north and south!

And he responds in kind!

Those rights come in like rapid-fire ordinance!

However, the challenger nimbly ducks them...

But that's the bell and the end of the first round!

So you smelled danger and started hitting back?

You would, wouldn't you?

What is it, Takamura?!

That b*stard was eyeing me, wasn't he?

God, I hate him.

What do you think?

Stop talking!

Focus on your breathing.

He saw it... all throughout the last round.

You better pay attention!

You know the other guy is going to step it up!

Don't worry, I'll hand him his a*s sooner than you think!

I'll show the world how powerful I am now that I'm back in my original weight class!

Okay, we're right on track.

Just keep doing what you're supposed to do in the next round.

Seconds out!

Round Two!

The challenger once again comes hurtling in!

And he's upping the pace!

Yes! Go, mow him down!

You're this close to the sweep!

Damn, could he really win this?

I think so.

He will!

Come on, go for it!

I've never seen Takamura-kun hitting this stride!

His punches and movements are both at top form.

He's in the best possible shape we can imagine!

However...

Despite taking that blistering attack, Eagle isn't anywhere near the ropes.

He's still parked at the center of the ring.

He's the champion, all right. He knows if he takes even one step backwards, he's done for.

Is that all you see?

He's doing things slightly different from the first round.

He switched from arm blocks and parries to...

mainly shoulder blocks.

And he's carrying himself at closer range.

So the reason why Eagle looks calm under that as*ault is...

He's handling all those blows because now he knows Takamura's rhythm like the back of his hand.

His rhythm?

And we can now assume he knows how to deal with him.

Then that means...

Yep.

It's coming!

The champion with a straight right!

What the...?

He's instantly blasted into a corner! Is he now on the defensive?

His style of boxing takes advantage of Takamura's huge weakness.

It's this trait which has won him the gold medal and the belt.

You can't beat him using raw strength alone.

You must remain two or three moves ahead in this high-level chess game.

Don't punch without thinking!

The champion connects at the tail end of the challenger's punches! And accurately too!

Wow! He's got Takamura-san's rhythm down and is getting clean hits!

It's not the only thing he has down.

He also has down his personality.

That's why he's not putting a lot of weight into those punches.

No weight? Why?

If he did that, he could cause a lot of damage!

Why...

are his punches so damn soft?!

Quit looking at me!

Again?

He's not taking the opportunity to hurt him.

Takamura has sure as hell gotten the message!

Of course, he must be angry.

Wow, look at that swing!

Go get him! One hit will put him down!

It's no use! Those huge swings can't get him!

Yes. And it's exactly what he wants.

Another light one?

That seals it.

So this guy is really...

pulling punches on me?!

g*dd*mn you!

That one's real!

I knew it!

He was waiting for him to get sloppy?

You little punk!

Oh, he's hurting! He felt that last one!

Takamura!

Oh, god!

You shitstain! Now my legs aren't working!

Move!

This again?

How can Takamura-san get cornered this easily?!

He's good!

Dumbass! Don't praise his opponent!

And here comes the champion!

This is his first onslaught of the match!

The challenger is completely stuck!

He pulled back his punches when he was in real trouble.

Then he hits hard when I do huge swings.

And all the while, he blocks off my escape routes.

Low risk and high return.

That's very smart boxing.

And a pain in the a*s!

Who the hell can box while thinking about strategy?!

Whoa! What do you call these punches?

What power from some very awkward positions!

If you think you got me all figured out, think again!

I'm going to bust open that smartass head of yours!

Animal instinct versus reason. So that's what it's come to.

Takamura-san is full of surprises!

That guy's beyond reason!

The champion's shellshocked!

Take him down!

Go get him!

The champion's throwing some solid lefts!

But the challenger's too quick!

And he makes a completely unconventional attack from an impossible angle!

So close!

Almost!

Keep pushing!

That's the end of the second round!

The champion floated in mid-air!

If he didn't block him, he'd be done for!

He's sure to hit him!

Yeah, count on it!

That stupid counter pissed me off!

It made my damn legs numb!

So Eagle does know how to punch!

Of course he does! He's the world champion!

He still makes me puke.

Boxing isn't a damn shogi game!

You box with your fists!

People are not supposed to win matches when they have to think about it!

Especially when facing me!

Takamura! Takamura! Takamura!

We're at the third round! The whole arena's behind the challenger!

So close!

You almost had him!

If only that one landed!

Get him, Takamura!

Eagle's only barely checking him with his left!

It's only a matter of time before Takamura-san lands a good one!

Do y'all think so?

He's down!

He's got us right in the palm of his hand!

One!

Two!

Three!

H-He went down!

He was going for the k*ll, but then got knocked back before we knew it!

Four!

Five!

He's good! The champion is really good!

Six!

Seven!

Oh! He's up!

The damage appears to be minor!

But...

Take a look at his face!

He looks like a monster whose pride has been shattered!

The champion makes a slow approach!

The challenger goes in with no guard!

He's angry! That man's obviously upset!

Those full swings are full of rage!

One of those could turn someone into mush!

The k*ller punches keep coming!

But they're not connecting! They keep hitting thin air!

Those are powerful, all right.

Those huge punches won't get him!

Hey, cool it! The champion's going for a counter!

I've never seen Takamura-kun like this!

He seems very disorganized to me!

He is disorganized.

This is a man who loathes being put in a box.

But he's been manipulated throughout the entire match... straight into a box.

He must feel thoroughly humiliated.

It's like watching a hawk thrash around in a locked cage.

He got him!

The challenger grabbed the ropes to avoid a down!

And that's where the third round ends!

The champion calmly walks away! His back seems to say it's all going according to plan!

Who would have thought the Japanese Hawk would be toyed with in this fashion?!

The Golden Eagle has an air of perfection around him!

He thinks it's in the bag!

I hate to admit it, but his boxing game's at another level.

God, what a mismatch.

This is now your game to lose! You were perfect all the way!

Just as you guessed, he's just like Hawk.

He only relies on his talents and violent strength.

He's no match for your experience and diligence.

Now go make easy work of him!

I'm fighting for dear life.

Eagle?

I am struggling just to survive!

I get chills down my spine whenever I dodge one of his blows.

Do you have any idea the amount of nerves it takes just to go for a counter?

Wipe the sweat!

Don't let our opponents get a whiff of this!

To think that Takamura's punches would make Eagle this spooked.

Takamura-kun, gargle!

No, you need to breathe first!

Will you all shut up!

Don't worry about me!

You telling me you have a plan?

Yeah!