Kazuki Sanada

Sanada Kazuki is a recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. He was the antagonist of the television special Champion Road.

Sanada was the Junior Featherweight Champion before relinquishing the title to conquer another class. He is a boxer who relies on science to win his fights. In his title fight against Ippo he used science to calculate how many seconds he will be immobilized (even though Ippo’s fighting spirit kept him going and proved his theory wrong). He can reduce his pulse rate between rounds which helps him to fight at his full potential again.

He is known to be very close to Ippo as he didn’t hesitate to help him when Ippo thought that Takamura had a detached retina.

Being a former Japanese champion Sanada was a highly skilled boxer. His fighting style focuses on skill and strategy rather than overwhelming strength or speed. Sanada’s boxing involves his knowledge of the human body to drive in major attacks at pinpoint precision to stop and breakdown his opponent from the inside rather than attacks to the body that do major external damage. His techniques allow him to drive in major attacks with even the slightest opening in an opponent guard. His understanding of anatomy also allows him to target the 4 vital organs of the body, which would lead to cyanosis.