Ippo's goal was to catch 10 leaves, with only a week to do so. While balancing school and work, Ippo also practiced his jabs. Finally, he figured out not only to increase the speed of his jabs, but also caught all 10 leaves in his left hand. Impressed, Takamura then assigns Ippo to work out his muscles, body and running speed for one month. Once done, Takamura takes Ippo back to the gym to test out his skills. His first test was to spar with a rookie the same age as Ippo, Ichiro Miyata.