Ippo Makunouchi is the eponymous protagonist of Hajime no Ippo. He is a trainer, retired featherweight professional boxer from the Kamogawa gym, and a former reigning featherweight JBC champion.

He originally started boxing to try and answer one simple question: “What does it mean to be strong?”. Since then, he has formed a rivalry with Ichirō Miyata, Takeshi Sendō, Ryō Mashiba, a brotherly bond with Mamoru Takamura, Masaru Aoki, Tatsuya Kimura, and a deep trust for his coach, Genji Kamogawa, whom he aims to become a world champion for to honour the coach’s teachings. After retiring from boxing, he has become a trainer, being a second for his gym mates while training Taihei Aoki and Kintarō Kaneda.