At an age swiftly approaching thirty, Date is an old-timer for a boxer but is nevertheless the man that Ippo looks up to. Years ago, he lost his World Title Match to the champion, Ricardo Martinez, who was defending his title for the 2nd time. He was knocked out in the 2nd round, and among other injuries, got a scar on the bridge of his then-fractured nose.    Date gave up boxing after that in order to settle down with his wife Aiko (a woman from a rich family who sacrificed a lot to be with him, and who just had a miscarriage at that time) and raise a family. But Date was a born boxer -- he found he could not contain his combative nature for long, and after Aiko told him that she wanted their son Yuuji to see his dad fight, he picked his career back up to the top. Date is strong in every way, but his greatest weapon is the Heartbreak Shot, a corkscrew blow to the heart that immobilizes the opponent.      ~!He is the first boxer to have defeated Ippo in the ring, making Kamogawa throw the towel.    After this fateful match, Date went after the WBA title -- a rematch with Ricardo Martinez, who was making his 18th title defense -- but lost by K.O. in the 10th round. The injuries he received in this fight included broken hands and a fractured jaw, and seriously limited Date&#039;s chances of making a return to the ring. He has, however, passed on his dream to Ippo. Currently, he trains other boxers at the Nakadai Gym. Morikawa Jouji stated in an interview that Date was modeled after former OPBF Champion Ozaki Fujio.    At the time of his retirement, Date held a record of 23-2-0 with 17 KO&#039;s. He was the former OPBF Featherweight Champion as well as a two-time JBC Featherweight Champion and has twice been the #1 contender to Ricardo Martinez&#039;s WBA Featherweight Title.!~    (Source: Wikipedia)

Makunouchi Ippo has been bullied his entire life. Constantly running errands and being beaten up by his classmates, Ippo has always dreamed of changing himself, but never has the passion to act upon it. One day, in the midst of yet another bullying, Ippo is saved by Takamura Mamoru, who happens to be a boxer. Ippo faints from his injuries and is brought to the Kamogawa boxing gym to recover. As he regains consciousness, he is awed and amazed at his new surroundings in the gym, though lacks confidence to attempt anything. Takamura places a photo of Ippo's classmate on a punching bag and forces him to punch it. It is only then that Ippo feels something stir inside him and eventually asks Takamura to train him in boxing. Thinking that Ippo does not have what it takes, Takamura gives him a task deemed impossible and gives him a one week time limit. With a sudden desire to get stronger, for himself and his hard working mother, Ippo trains relentlessly to accomplish the task within the time limit. Thus Ippo's journey to the top of the boxing world begins.

Rafael Antonio "Tony" Olivier is a Puerto Rican-born American voice actor best known for voicing Rick Hunter from Robotech, Lancer from Fate/stay night, and Arsène Lupin III from Lupin the Third. He helped produce the live action shows Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and VR Troopers.

Makunouchi Ippo has been bullied his entire life. Constantly running errands and being beaten up by his classmates, Ippo has always dreamed of changing himself, but never has the passion to act upon it. One day, in the midst of yet another bullying, Ippo is saved by Takamura Mamoru, who happens to be a boxer. Ippo faints from his injuries and is brought to Takamura boxing gym to recover. As he regains consciousness, he is awed and amazed at his new surroundings in the gym, though lacks confidence to attempt anything. Takamura places a photo of Ippo&rsquo;s classmate on a punching bag and forces him to punch it. It is only then that Ippo feels something stir inside him and eventually asks Takamura to train him in boxing. Thinking that Ippo does not have what it takes, Takamura gives him a task deemed impossible and gives him a one week time limit. With a sudden desire to get stronger, for himself and his hard working mother, Ippo trains relentlessly to accomplish the task within the time limit. Thus Ippo&rsquo;s journey to the top of the boxing world begins. 
(Source: MAL Rewrite)

Ippo Makunouchi continues his boxing career and his goal on knowing the meaning of being strong, and the desire on fighting his idol Ichiro Miyata once again. Along him are pro boxers Takamura, Aoki and Kimura that each one of them aspire to their own dreams.
 
(Source: Anime News Network)

Ippo continues to defend his Japanese Featherweight title from an ever stronger pool of challengers. Meanwhile, Takamura challenges for his second WBC title in the middleweight class, and Aoki challenges for the Japanese Lightweight title.

Eiji Date