Eiji Date

Boxing Abilities

At his peak, Date was far and away, the second best featherweight in the world only behind Ricardo Martinez. He is a very well rounded fighter, his speed and power are just above average but his durability and skill are some of the best in the sport.

Utilising his high level of skill, Date is adept at turning his head at the moment of impact reducing the amount of damage taken, a move that he used effectively to hand Ippo his first pro defeat. His finisher is the Heart Break Shot, a powerful corkscrew blow aimed at the heart which momentarily stuns opponents and leaves them open to punches.

Date throwing his corkscrew blow.

Unofficially, there are two versions of Date. The version Ippo fought was a Date who had lost his confidence and had become cynical about taking on the world a second time. While he was able to deal with Ippo for most of the match in this mindset, it was only until he began looking at the match as a brawl in the later rounds that he won. This version of Date hearkens back to his younger days when he challenged the world. Though he does not brawl outright, he becomes almost entirely offence-oriented and focuses on overwhelming his opponent with combinations. This version of Date was able to easily defeat Miyata, the current OPBF champ, in a spar, and gave Ricardo Martinez trouble in the early rounds of their second championship bout.

Techniques

• Motionless Jab

• Corkscrew Blow / Heart Break Shot

• Neck Spin

• Brawling Style

Weaknesses

Date shares the same weakness as other well-rounded boxers in the series: he has no particular strengths. Most of his opponents are stronger or faster than him, some even both. As a result he is forced to rely on the corkscrew blow often. This reliance led to his loss against Ricardo and subsequent retirement from boxing.