Ricardo Martinez

Ricardo Martinez is a semi-recurring character in Hajime no Ippo and the current WBA Featherweight Champion in the series. He is the main antagonist of the series.

Ricardo seems to be quiet and taciturn, choosing not to speak unless directly spoken to. In media, he speaks with his trainer (Bill Stewart) before speaking to the press and is shown to be a confident, but at the same time analytical man.

Famous for being a super champion (undefeated with many title defenses), it is said that even Mexicans who don’t recognize their political leaders know Ricardo’s name. He is also the boxer who gave Date Eiji his iconic scar.

Ricardo Martinez is currently the only ‘Super Champion’ in the series. He has the longest title run in the series, with 21 defenses of his WBA Featherweight Title over a decade. He became WBA Featherweight Champion at the age of 21. His fame is so great, even those in Mexico who don’t know the President’s name knows his name. Ricardo’s strength far exceeds that of the other known featherweights. His power is on par with Ippo’s; his damage retention allowed him to take several heavy blows from Date without any lasting damage; his jabs are able to stop Ippo’s Dempsey Roll and knock him unconscious on their own. For reasons unknown, he has always stayed in the WBA and never tried to become undisputed champ, leaving the massive number of World contenders avoiding him to scramble for the WBC belt.

Ricardo Martinez is the most powerful featherweight in the world. His speed, power, stamina, and reflexes are described to be otherworldly. His jab is notable for having no shoulder movement, making it impossible to predict. It is implied during his world title match with Date Eiji that his punching power is on par with Ippo’s. In his spar against Ippo, he proved capable of knocking Ippo unconscious in less than one round when he was the JBC Champion with only one title defense, using only his left jab. He is even described by Takamura being “out-of-this-world” and on a totally different level, insinuating that his strength can’t be measured because other boxers who challenged him have no idea of how strong he really is.