Ippo is relatively short, even by Japanese standards. He has black, shaggy hair, and his body, while being in the featherweight division, is stressed in the series as extremely muscular.In terms of skin tone Ippo is tanned,most likely from his work at the fishing boat store his family owns as well as his boxing roadwork. His eyes are dark colored in the manga, further colorized as gray in The Fighting and then a mix of green and yellow in New Challenger.

Vorg

Alexander Volg Zangief ( lit. arekusandoru vuorugu zangiefu, sometimes incorrectly romanized as Alexander Vorg Zangief, VOLG Zangief) is a recurring character in Hajime no Ippo. He is a Russian natural-born boxer formerly affiliated with the Otowa Boxing Gym. He hails from an unspecified location at the edge of Russia and leaves behind a very sick mother when traveling to Japan in hopes of earning enough money to pay for her medical care. His main fights in the series are against Makunouchi Ippo, Sendou Takeshi, and Mike Elliot. He is currently the IBF Junior Lightweight champion in the series.