@Razhem:
The guy is horrible at character development, I can pretty much state this without an ounce of a doubt, managing to have one of the longest running series ever with some of the most underdeveloped characters out there including the main character himself. When it gets to the boxing matches themselves, he does tend to do some pretty awesome stuff (though he did have a few stinkers in a row a couple of years ago) and it's the reason I keep up with it. But every time something seems to be moving only to have it timidly go back to status quo for another 2 years till things get momentum again is just pure despair.
Also, "not utilizing the cast in the way you feel best" is a great way to take the attention completely away from the fact that they are wasted background noise at this stage, go you for defending Morikawa senpai from the mean old internet poster!
So by your logic and in the 20 some odd years Morikawa's been writing the series he hasn't done anyting with
Ippo, Takamura, Itagaki, Kamogawa,Date, Sendo, Volg, Miyata, Umezawa, Mashiba, or Sawamura?
He's just been writing these characters exactly the same way he was writing them when they first showed up in the manga with virtually no developments what so ever?
And that's a sign of his hackery?
Also I wouldn't take issue with your comment and by extension TLC's if you guys weren't be so melodramatic about certain things, Morikawa's writing has it's issues especially where the fights are concerned but he's far and away from being a hack.
@wolfwood:
I dunno. The more distance i have to it, the more i sorta think it's interesting the way they are going with it.
The pro world is tough, and maybe contenders is all they'll amount to be.
It'd be somewhat unrealistic if all the boxers at Kamogawa gym had success in all their fights including title fights. Afterall Kamogawa never had a belt due to messing up his hands (and probably wouldn't had a long career anyhow do to his apparently shoddy footwork and defense) and
Yagi never amounted to much in his boxing career due to not being good enough.