Ichirou Miyata

Date of birth: August 27, 1973 Nationality: Japanese Boxing style: Out Boxer, Counter-Puncher Height: 5'7.5" (172.0 cm) Reach: 69" (175.4 cm) Weight: 126 lbs. Weight class: Featherweight Gym affiliation: Kawabara Gym Specialty: Various counters, Speed Hell Stance: Orthodox Stance , Detroit Style, Hitman Style (once) Ichiro Miyata is an out-boxer known for his speed, timing and determination. His normal punches are light but he is an expert at using counters that are all potential Sunday punches. Miyata is one of Ippo's primary goals as a boxer. Ever since he was little, Miyata has always wanted to be like his dad. His dad, Suzuki Miyata, used to be a boxer, until a career-ending jaw bone injury forced him to retire. Miyata takes his training dead seriously, and has always believed in his father's old beliefs, that skill can beat strength. You hardly ever see the guy smile because he thinks that he doesn't have the privilege to smile unless he wins a boxing match. He had worked his way up to almost the top of the featherweight Rookie King championship, until Ryo Mashiba beat him in a match. Miyata ended up in the hospital with a broken foot, as well as some other injuries. Miyata then left Japan to fill the gap between himself and Ippo. He now holds the OPBF Featherweight title and has defended it five times. Due to his promise with Ippo and his determination to prove his father's boxing to the world, Miyata restricts himself to the Featherweights and as a consequence suffers from severe weight control, which lowers his match stamina and strength while making him more susceptible to damage. He was supposed to fight Ippo as promised at that point, but due to a series of events that would come to be called fate, the match didn't happen. Miyata broke his fists in the fight preceding his match with Ippo and took three months off to recover. During that interval, Randy Boy Junior became the Interim Champion. Miyata then cancelled his match with Ippo, much to everyone's confusion.