u/Pitiful_Credit_2132

For me, I'd say that Miyata should be his penultimate fight for the OPBF belt + a shot at fighting Ricardo for the WBA title or taking on world-ranked boxers after Miyata to reach Ricardo and Ricardo being his last fight.

Ippo's retirement isn't just him retiring for health reasons, it's him also training to be fighting world class boxers at the world class level - when he returns. To me, it's like both Ippo and Ricardo have the same motives. What it means to be strong. Enhancing his fight IQ alongside the final form of the Dempsey Roll

I hope Morikawa knows what he is doing. It's not like I'm worried about how the manga ends or what direction he takes it, but it would make more sense if he had Sendo lose (not death-wise, but more like permanent damage for sendo) and Ippo returns.

And I assume that Ricardo (when he got knocked down) was distracted as he was lost in his thoughts about being strong (like Ippo desires to find out what it means to be strong) and that he was caught unexpectedly in his prespective. He finally snapped back into reality and got hit CLEAN with that shot. It's like a flash knockdown. Maybe he wanted Sendo at his best because he was definitely beating Sendo, and once he got back up, he said, "Finally. He's appeared." Ricardo seems to want his opponents at their best or to actually let Sendo use everything to tire himself out so Ricardo takes advantage and beat him badly.

It's like every opponent Ippo has fought are losing when it comes to world title matches. Mashiba lost to Rosario with that spine injury. And since Ricardo is attacking his ribs, Sendo might have a serious injury with his ribs or could be something else. Idk.

To me - Ippo vs. Sendo III wouldn't make a good conclusion for the manga to end with the 3rd fight between Ippo and Sendo. Despite the promise they made, it's just something that I would say would just ruin HNI for me. Why watch Ippo fight the guy he beat 2 times in a row and still not get the answer what it means to be strong? It's gonna get boring watching the same thing over and over again. If Morikawa wanted Ippo vs. Sendo to be his final fight, the Lollapalooza arc would've just ended HNI right there.

Ricardo and Ippo has the same motives, and despite the spar... Ippo wasn't like a world-class boxer at the time. I feel like if they do pull of a ANJ (not by killing Sendo), I feel like it would make the stakes higher for Ippo to get the answer to what it means to be strong.

If Ippo beats Miyata, all his former rivals who he was training with will help train him to fight against Ricardo (Volg, Sendo, Mashiba, Miyata, etc... Not all of his opponents) to enhance his skills, maybe use what they use for the final form of the Dempsey Roll. Like in Rocky 3. It's like assembling the Avengers of HNI.

Ippo vs. Ricardo isn't just about the WBA title, it's about what it truly means to be strong. That's why I would love for Ippos final fight (before permanent retirement) to be against Ricardo. And when they're at their best to truly understand... what it means to be strong. That's the moral of Ippos life and in the Manga. Ippo's journey to understand what it truly means to be strong. ​

Despite everything, I feel bad about Morikawa. I hope he takes breaks as much as needed so he can fully give his attention to his health, then resume the manga ​soon, because he was hospitalized and stuff. Lets see however he takes the manga, and I'm glad he is doing better. However he wants to end the manga, it's up to him.

Perfection takes time.​