 Victorious Boxers : Ippo 's Road to Glory , known in Japan as Hajime no Ippo : Victorious Boxers ( はじめの一歩 VICTORIOUS BOXERS , lit . " The First Step : Victorious Boxers " ) , is a Japanese @-@ developed boxing video game created by New Corporation for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console . It is based on the manga and anime series Hajime no Ippo . Though the original series is very popular in Japan , it is not as widely known in the United States ( US ) . The game was released in Japan on December 14 , 2000 and in North America on November 5 , 2001 . 
