List of Punch-Out!! characters

This is a list of characters appearing in the Punch-Out!! series.

Bob Charlie
Bob Charlie (ボブ・チャーリー), from Kingston, Jamaica. His only appearance in the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!! as the first boxer in the Major Circuit. His look and name are references to the reggae legend Bob Marley. Before leaving Jamaica, Bob Charlie was crowned Jive King of Kingston.

Doc Louis
Jerome "Doc" Louis (ドック・ルイス) is Little Mac's trainer and coach, who stands at Mac's corner during fights. Between rounds, Doc provides Mac with advice, encouragement, or sometimes a humorous anecdote. He is the creator of the "Star Punch", the most powerful move in Mac's arsenal. In Punch-Out!! for Wii, he is voiced by Riley Inge.

Doc Louis appears as the sole challenger in the Club Nintendo exclusive Doc Louis's Punch-Out!!.

Dragon Chan
Dragon Chan (ドラゴン・チェン), from Hong Kong, first appeared in the Super Punch-Out!! arcade game as a kickboxer who utilizes martial-arts based techniques, such as backhands, chops, and kicks. He last appeared in the SNES Super Punch-Out!! wherein he not only kicks, but also meditates to recover his stamina. His physical appearance is modeled after Bruce Lee, while his name is a reference to Jackie Chan.

Gabby Jay
Gabby Jay (ガビー・ジェイ) is the first boxer in Super Punch-Out!! for the Super NES. Bit Mob editor Andrew Fitch criticized Gabby Jay, calling him a "wannabe" of Glass Joe. Allgame editor Skyler Miller agreed with this sentiment, commenting that while humorous, he is not quite as "out there." In his article "One and Done: Nine Videogame Characters Who Were Never Heard From Again", editor John Teti listed Gabby Jay, stating that it was "not easy to replace a legend, but that was the bum hand dealt to Gabby Jay." He added that Gabby Jay not appearing in the Wii Punch-Out!! in favour of Glass Joe was something that Star Trek fans would deem "the Dr. Pulaski treatment."

Heike Kagero
Heike Kagero (平家 陽炎) is a Japanese Kabuki from Osaka, Japan. His only appearance in the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!! as the second boxer in the World Circuit. He has a high damage Uppercut (similar to Don Flamenco).

Hoy Quarlow
Hoy Quarlow (回 鍋肉), from Beijing, China, is an elderly Chinese man, apparently a parody of elderly Kung-Fu masters, who first appeared as the second opponent in the Special Circuit of Super Punch-Out. He carries a large cane which he uses to fight with, along with kicks and backhands, much like Dragon Chan before him. He is very fast, and is notorious amongst Super Punch-Out players as being very difficult to beat.

Kid Quick
Kid Quick (キッド・クイック) from Brooklyn, New York. His only appearance was in the arcade version of Punch-Out!!. He is the only boxer in the Punch-Out!! series to have no special attack; however, as his last name "Quick" tells it, he is very fast in both offense and defense. In 2009, a new Punch-Out!! character named Disco Kid appeared in Punch-Out!! Wii.

Little Mac
Little Mac (リトル・マック) is the main character of the NES, SNES, and Wii titles in the series. He has black hair, wears a black tank top with green trunks and gloves, and is described as being 17 years old, 4 ft 8 in, 107 lb (5 ft 7 in, 107 lb in the Wii version, according to the May 2009 issue of Game Informer), 107 lbs., and hailing from the Bronx, New York. While his ethnicity is not officially known, pro boxer Paul Malignaggi, who portrayed Little Mac in the commercial for the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, hinted that he is Italian-American. Mac's signature move is a powerful jumping uppercut called the "Star Punch", taught to him by his trainer Doc Louis.

Outside of video games, Little Mac featured as the protagonist in the Punch-Out!! stories featured in Valiant Comics' Nintendo Comics System, appearing in the stories "The First Fight", "Outsiders", and "Fox and Hounds." Mac also makes a cameo in the prologue short of the Captain N comic books. He has also appeared as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, voiced by Hisao Egawa. In the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, he is voiced by Matt Harty, a sound designer for Next Level Games.

The SNES version of Super Punch-Out features a muscular blonde-haired character as the protagonist; Nintendo has been inconsistent regarding his identity. According to the May 2009 issue of Nintendo Power, Bryce Holliday, one of the main developers of the Wii version of Punch-Out, states that the player character in Super Punch-Out is not Little Mac. However, during the North American and European Virtual Console releases of the SNES title, Nintendo of America and Europe have claimed that Little Mac is in the SNES game The history section of official website for the Wii version of Punch-Out!! also states that the character is Little Mac. According to Nintendo of America, the SNES title takes place after the events of the NES and Wii titles of the series; Little Mac looks different because he was given a makeover, and his repertoire has expanded since separating from Doc Louis, " including the "Knockout Punch" and the "Rapid Punch". Before the SNES Super Punch-Out!! was finished and released, some screenshots and video footage of the prototype seen in gaming magazines and two official television commercials  showed him with a different look compared to his final version seen in the finished and released version.

Nintendo Power listed Little Mac as their 11th favourite hero, stating that he taught gamers that more intimidating foes can be overcome by patience, persistence, and "pattern recognition".

Mad Clown
Mad Clown (マッド・クラウン) is a traveling circus Clown from Milan, Italy who decided to take up boxing. He made his only appearance in the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!! as the third boxer in the World Circuit. According to the Manual, Mad Clown was originally an Italian Opera singer, but after having a nervous breakdown, later joined the Circus instead. After tiring of the same nightly performances Juggling and trying to drive a car that was too small for him, he decided to make his debut in the World Circuit.

Masked Muscle
Masked Muscle (マスクド・マッスル) is a masked Luchador from Mexico City, Mexico. Banned from Luchador Wrestling for illegal manoeuvers, Masked Muscle now boxes. He still however, is not afraid to use cheating manoeuvers against the player, including Headbutting and Spitting into the player's eyes to blind them. According to the instruction manual of Super Punch-Out!!, he holds the dubious titles of "The Amigo to Nobody" and the "Crown Prince of the Cheap Shot".

Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream
Mike Tyson is the final opponent of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, whom Little Mac faces in a bout called "The Dream Fight". He is the undefeated, undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. During the first 90 seconds of the fight, all of Tyson's attacks can instantly knock the player down. After Tyson's contract with Nintendo expired, he was replaced with a fictional character based on a then-Nintendo tournament champion, Mr. Dream (Mr. ドリーム).

Narcis Prince
Narcis Prince (ナルシス・プリンス), from London, England, is a vain British Ivy Leaguer who originally appeared as the first opponent in Super Punch-Out's Special Circuit. He has very good defence and reasonably strong attacks when he is calm, but if he is hit in the face at all, he flies into a blind rage and attacks recklessly (But more powerfully in return), allowing the player to attack him more effectively. His name is a pun on the word Narcissist.

Nick Bruiser
Nick Bruiser (ニック・ブルーザー) is the Champion of the Special Circuit in Super Punch-Out, and the final opponent in the game. He is a huge and emotionless opponent who has never lost a fight in his career. Ever since he beat his younger brother Rick in a match, he has vowed never to lose his title. Like Rick before him, he can also incapacitate your boxer's hands (Except Nick can do it twice in a row to leave the player completely unable to attack for a short time), but he is more powerful, and can also increase the power of his attacks for short periods of time, knock the player down in one hit with a "Dashing Forearm" attack, and has better defense, barely even flinching from standard punches. He could be considered a character similar to Ivan Drago from the Rocky movies.

Piston Hurricane
Piston Hurricane (ピストン・ハリケーン), from Havana, Cuba, originally appeared as the second opponent in the first Punch-Out!! arcade, with an afro. His special move is the Hurricane Rush, wherein he jumps away from his opponent, taunts, then jumps toward his opponent punching rapidly. His most recent appearance was in the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!!. In the NES and Wii games, Piston Hurricane is replaced by the stoic Japanese boxer Piston Honda, (Piston Hondo in the Wii version) who fights in a similar manner.

Pizza Pasta
Pizza Pasta (ピッツァ・パスタ) from Napoli, Italy. His only appearance was in the arcade version of Punch-Out!!. His first and last names are references to Italian food. Piston Hondo/Honda and Aran Ryan are his replacements.

Rick Bruiser
Rick Bruiser (リック・ブルーザー) is the third opponent in the special circuit of Super Punch-Out. He is the younger, but no less monstrous brother of Nick Bruiser. They share similar records (42 Wins each), but Rick has only ever lost once at his brother's hand. He is capable of using his elbows to incapacitate your boxer's hands, and jumping up to stun the player before landing powerful uppercuts that always knock the player down in one hit, similarly to Bald Bull.

Cameo characters
Punch-Out!! plays host to several cameo characters. Whereas the original Punch-Out!! shows several Nintendo characters in the audience, including Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario, Mario appears as a referee in the NES Punch-Out!!. Recently, Donkey Kong appears as an opponent to protagonist Little Mac. Princess Peach was once considered for this role.

Reception
Topps and Nintendo of America made a series of trading cards featuring characters from the Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon, and the NES Punch-Out!! series. The Punch-Out!! cards are of the various opponent boxers that Little Mac fights. The cards have scratch-off spots on them.