Masahiko Umezawa  

, 梅沢 正彦

Initially, during high school, Umezawa was the leader of Ippo's bullies and had a pompadour hairstyle that was typical among Japanese delinquents. However, after he became a professional boxer, his opinion of Ippo changed from admiration to friendship. Despite this change in sentiment, Umezawa continued to attend most of Ippo's matches during high school and up until his retirement as a fisherman to become a manga artist. During that time, he would often wear a handmade support headband and cheer for Ippo as his main fan. After retiring from Makunouchi Fishing Boat, Itagaki Manabu took over Umezawa's job. It is unclear whether Umezawa has attended any of Ippos matches since then. In some ways, Umezawa can be seen as a representation of Morikawa Joujis character in the manga series.