Ippo had a lot of dramatic and thrilling boxing matches in Hajime No Ippo, but there was one match that he should have actually lost.

SUMMARY

Ippo Makunouchi fought a lot of strong boxers in his career in Hajime No Ippo.
However, his match against Hisato Kojima was certainly an interesting one.
Ideally, he should have lost that match as it would have given him a better character development.

There are very few sports manga and anime series that can compare themselves to the legendary Hajime No Ippo. Created by George Morikawa, Hajime No Ippo offers a dramatic storyline with some of the best fight scenes that a boxing series could offer. The story revolves around Ippo Makunouchi, who goes on to become one of the greatest boxers in the world.

Hajime No Ippo | Credit: Studio Madhouse

Ippo’s journey in Hajime No Ippo is filled with a lot of struggles and hard work, but he has never shied away from any kind of challenge thrown in front of him. He fought and defeated many opponents, which helped him achieve success and fulfill his dream. However, there is one fight that many fans believe was quite controversial.

This fight took place when Ippo was challenged by Hisato Kojima, the lightweight professional boxer, who wanted Ippo to fight him with his full strength. While Ippo won the fight quite easily, it would have been better for the narrative and his character development if he had lost to Kojima.

Ippo Makunouchi vs. Hisato Kojima

Hisato Kojima was a lightweight professional boxer who moved down to the featherweight class only to fight Ippo. Kojima held Ippo in high regard and wanted to test his strength against the full might of Ippo. This is why he taunted him and mocked his entire team, which led to Ippo getting angry and confirming the fight without thinking much about it.

After a few days, when the fight started, both boxers stood still for almost a minute. However, Ippo decided to land the first blow but was automatically stopped and was hit with a counter by Kojima. The counter was so powerful that Ippo almost fell on the canvas, but he somehow caught himself. This was when Ippo decided to end the fight as he unleashed a lethal left hand.

Hajime no Ippo | Credit: Studio Madhouse

His punch was so powerful that it sent Kojima flying for a second, and then he immediately landed on the canvas, completely knocked out. This led to Ippo’s victory, which he achieved with just one punch. While this was a short fight, it held a lot of importance and was considered one of the most significant bouts in the life of both boxers.

Ippo Should Have Lost The Fight

While Ippo’s victory against Kojima was one of the fastest, the creator should have made Ippo lose that fight. The reason behind this is that it would have helped Ippo’s character development and his training against his future bouts. While Kojima was faking it, he did insult Ippo and his teammates, which enraged Ippo quite a lot.

After so much insult, if Ippo had also lost his fight against Kojima, it would have brought a big change in Ippo’s mindset. He would have focused more on his training and even tried some new moves that involved defense.

Not only that, it would have forced Ippo to add more variety of punches to his arsenal that would have made his other fights even better.

He needed that loss to understand the aspects of his boxing that he needed to work on which would have given a nice training arc. It would have enhanced Hajime No Ippo’s central storyline and made it an even better narrative than it already is.