After Kojiro put on the boxing gloves, head protector, and some training clothes that Takamura lent him, he entered the boxing ring.
Takamura gave him a mouthpiece and said to Kojiro while smiling, "Listen, kid, this is a three-round match. In the first round, I want you to observe Ippo carefully and not get hit no matter what. This kid has strong punches; you will lose if you get hit by his punches, so put your guards up at all times."
Kojiro scoffed when he heard this and said to Takamura, "No way I will fight him head-on. Takamura, hiding and defending is not my style. I will face everything he throws at me head-on."
When Takamura heard this, he got a tick mark above his eyebrows and yelled at Kojiro, "You moron, you only know how to throw jabs and straight rights. Ippo had been training in the gym for two weeks, and he is improving at a fast rate."
Kojiro smiled when he heard this and said to Takamura, "Relax, Takamura. As I said to the old man before, I don't care about being a boxer; I only want to have fun fighting against strong fighters. Besides, I know more than throwing jabs and straight rights; I also know how to throw hooks and uppercuts."
Takamura raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard this and asked. "Who taught you how to throw hooks and uppercuts?"
Kojiro smiled while looking at Takamura and answered him, "By watching your matches, big guy."
Takamura gave a small smile when he heard this and said to Kojiro, "Alright, kid, have it your way, but be careful not to get hit by his punches keep your guards up at all time."
"Seconds out."
"GONG."
After the gong rang, Ippo dashed towards Kojiro at impressive speed, and he started throwing a combination of jabs and straights right at him. These combinations were quite fast and powerful; Kojiro couldn't dodge or guard against them.
"BAAM, BAAM, BAAM, BAAM."
Kojiro was getting hit in his face and on his body by Ippo's punches.
Takumura was restless; he hit the mat hard and yelled at Kojiro, "You moron, I told you to put guards up and not get punched."
"BAAM."
Ippo finished the combination with a powerful straight right, sending Kojiro falling at the mat.
Takamura was quite angry, and he hit the mat while yelling, "On your feet, kid. Show me your spirit now; don't you dare give up, or I am going to kick you to Osaka."
Aoki, Kamura, and Miyata walked to Takamura, and Aoki asked, "What's going on, big guy? Who is the one Ippo is sparring with?"
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Suddenly Kojiro burst out laughing like a lunatic.
All those who were watching were shocked when they started hearing Kojiro laugh.
"HAHAHAHA, this is so much fun. You really punch like a truck." Kojiro said while smiling widely at Ippo, and he started getting up.
Ippo's heart started beating faster when he saw Kojiro smile like a lunatic.
After Kojiro stood up, he took the same stance as Ippo, and then he dashed towards him.
Takamura, Aoki, Miyata, Kamura, and Komogawa widened their eyes when they saw Kojiro taking the same stance as Ippo, and when he dashed towards Ippo, they saw Ippo's shadow in Kojiro.
When Kojiro was in front of Ippo, he threw the same combinations that Ippo just used against him, but the difference is his combination is faster, more fluid, and more precise than Ippo's; however, it was less powerful than Ippo's.
"BAAM, BAAM, BAAM, BAAM."
Ippo got hit with the combination that Kojiro executed, and with a strong straight right punch, Ippo fell on the mat.
Komogawa snapped out of his stupor and yelled, "That is enough."
Kojiro got annoyed when he heard this and said to Komogawa, "Hell no, old man, I am starting to have fun, and you want me to stop now?"
Takamura burst out in laughter when he heard this, and he said to Kojiro, "Relax, kid, you can spar with Ippo any time you want in the future. The old man accepted you as a member of his gym."
Kojiro's eyes brightened up when he heard this, and he saw Kamagawa nodding his head.
Komogawa then said to Kojiro, "You may leave for today, and I want you to start coming to the gym after school every day to start training. I am going to show you what the boxing world has to offer, kid. In the future, you will face many strong boxers, but it depends on your effort whether you have the chance to meet them in the ring."
Kojiro smiled widely when he heard this, and he nodded his head. He then changed his clothes and left the gym.
Komogawa walked back to his office, and he started smiling widely, "To think I will meet another monster at Takamura caliber, things are getting interesting."