Homeland/Country: Mexico
Weight Class: Bantamweight (115 to 118 Pounds Weight Limit)
Stance: Orthodox Stance & Brawling Stance
Speciality/Techniques/Abilities: Neck Spin, Bone Breaking Corkscrew Blow/Punches, Left Jab, Counter and "The Perfect Defense"
The Main Antagonist of Ashita No Joe 2 and Second Half of Ashita No Joe Manga. He is the Undisputed and Undefeated Bantamweight Champion of the World that holds the WBA and WBC belts. Jose Mendoza can be described as a very quiet but confident champion who acts like a gentleman but can be rude to those who are rude or disrespectful to him. When he talks, he has a very intimidating deep voice. He has fair or light skin, blue eyes, big heavy hands, and a signature mustache. Jose Mendoza is a family man as he likes to spend time with his family outside of Boxing. He is described as "The Strongest Man In The World" or "The Perfect Champion". He defended his WBC World Bantamweight Championship a total of 17 times, all by Knock Out. He has killed opponents in the ring or knocked them out in brutal fashion, even causing permanent brain damage to one of his opponents. This makes Jose Mendoza a very dangerous boxer.
He first comes to Joe's attention after defeating the then sixth-ranked WBC contender, Carlos Rivera. After Joe's contested bout with the Venezuelan boxer, Carlos Rivera ended up with severe brain damage (Punch Drunk Syndrome) and a broken part of his skull (X-Rays prove this) from receiving Corkscrew Punches from Jose Mendoza. Jose Mendoza, the WBC Bantamweight Champion, also unifies his WBC title against Harold Gomez, the WBA Bantamweight Champion. Jose kills Harold Gomez with Corkscrew Punches, breaking Harold's jaw and knocking him out only for Harold to never wake up again as he is confirmed dead at the hospital. Jose Mendoza since then became the Undisputed Champion of the Two Belt Era when unifying WBC and WBA Championships gives you Undisputed Status.
Jose Mendoza is a character based on or inspired by real Mexican Professional Boxer Carlos "El Cañas" Zarate, who was a World Champion at Bantamweight and was a KO artist. Also, Mexican Professional Boxer Ruben "El Puas" Olivares may have been an inspiration since he is also one of the best Bantamweight World Champions in history. Real-life Mexican Professional Boxer Jose Medel was name-dropped in the first season of Ashita No Joe Episode 15 as one of the boxers who used The Cross Counter (later on it becomes Joe Yabuki's signature punch) who knocked out Japanese Boxing Legends, Fighting Harada and Seki Mitsunori. It could be possible foreshadowing or the reason why the character Jose Mendoza is named Jose since it is also a common name in Mexico.
During his bout with Joe, he believed him to be a 'phantom' due to the amount of punches Joe received but continued to fight. Despite managing to win by decision after 15 Rounds in both the anime and manga, the stress from the situation caused him to foul and after the fight, age him and make his hair turn white. Jose may have ended up being Punch Drunk as well.
Characters
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Main
Joes rival in Ashita no Joe.Tōru Rikiishi is Joes most personal and significant boxing rival. The two first meet in the juvenile detention center, he was a boxer but was sentenced to the juvenile detention center because he punched an audience member half...
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Main
Yoko Shiraki is a young woman born to the Shirakis, a very wealthy family who is known for their activities in the boxing field. She is the main female protagonist in Ashita no Joe.She is very polite, graceful and kind to other people, always acting exact...
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Main
Danpei is Joe's serious, cautious and responsible mentor who gets him started in his boxing career. He is fond of sake, being overly cheerful when drunk which contrasts with his strict everyday self. He is also very polite when talking to people that hold...
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Main
The protagonist of the story. He is known for his long bangs and for always wearing a worn out beige coat and a red flat cap.Not long after birth he found himself in many orphanages and facilities. However, he quickly grew tired of the boring life and fre...
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Supporting
Chuukichi (中吉, Chūkichi) was a famed Kirigakure shinobi.He was a well noted shinobi during his lifetime, enough to justify his inclusion as a sensor and a backup within Akatsuki's Surprise Attack and Diversion Platoon, alongside Deidara, Sasori and Shin.M...
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Supporting
No biography written....
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Supporting
No biography written....
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Supporting
A gangster Joe meets when hes wandering around after Rikiishis death. Meeting him is one of the reasons Joe decides to pick up boxing again....
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Supporting
A boxer man from Malaysia....