Punch-Out!!/Pizza Pasta

1st match
Pizza Pasta can be very tough if you don't know the trick to defeating him. This trick will work pretty much every time, but may take a little practice. Keep throwing left jabs. Sometimes he will just block them, but sometimes you can see him prepare for a hook as he blocks. When he does, dodge and counter with jabs. Also, sometimes he will duck your jab. Dodge his uppercut and counter with jabs. You can use a knockout punch when he's stunned, too. That's pretty much it... until he does his crouched-challenge move, which essentially freezes you.

The crouch-challenge move will only last a few seconds. Hold right (not left!) while you're "frozen" and you will automatically dodge the following uppercut. Then you will get to throw lots of left jabs at his face and you will probably refill your KO meter. Give him a hook or two and if you've been doing well, he will probably fall down.

The second time he does his crouch-challenge and you beat him up, you might not be in a position to knock him down. Afterward, he will likely begin a fast flurry of punches. This will be somewhat like Piston Hurricane's rush, with a twist: instead of alternating high and low, he will punch wherever you're not guarding. You must switch your guard with just the right timing. He might knock you down, and that's OK... you can get back to your old pattern when you get back up.

Alternatively, if you have a little energy left, you can defeat the crouch-challenge like this: allow Pizza to hit you with the uppercut, then begin dodging to the right. With just the right timing you can dodge every single punch. You can retaliate with a jab, then a right (or a hook if you have the KO meter full), then he will try punching again and you can repeat until you knock him down.

Like Bald Bull, Pizza Pasta will often counter a KO punch if you throw one while he's not stunned. Your best bet is to throw a left jab (to induce an attack), dodge, jab him once, then hook him. If you jab twice you leave yourself open to retaliation. But do throw all the KO punches you want after hitting him after the crouch challenge.

Be warned that toward the end of the fight Pizza Pasta might catch on to your pattern, and hit you while you are dodging. As soon as this happens you need to give up and switch to a strategy of waiting for him to attack and then dodging.

Title defense
Pizza Pasta can be defeated the same way as before, but not as easily and he can fight back sometimes. Be warned that his timing is more erratic.