The 3rd season of the anime adaptation of George Morikawa's boxing manga will be entitled Hajime no Ippo: RISING. To premiere this Fall, the anime announces, “Ippo fights the formidable enemy, Sawamura! Dempsey breaks down!?”

The new anime season will pick-up after the end of Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger, after Mamoru Takamura became the WBC Junior Middleweight Champion after defeating Bryan Hawk. This season's highlight is Ippo Makunouchi's match against Ryuhei Sawamura, a boxer that stopped the former's knockout and special move — the Dempsey Roll.