Imae is a boxer with the same tastes in girls as Aoki. However, he dumped his girlfriend and said he never wanted to see her again, since he believed having any sort of relationship would be half-assing his boxing career.
He later reconnected with her after facing Aoki and having a change of heart. When he was about to lose the match he remembered that impressing his girlfriend was the reason he even started boxing to begin with (like Date Eiji); and this actually motivated him for the rest of the match.
Imae was the previous Lightweight Japanese champion. He broke up with his girlfriend to dedicate himself to the sport of boxing, but then Aoki Masaru challenged him for the title and showed him what a fighter with a girlfriend could do. The match resulted in a draw, but Imae and Aoki became friendly rivals, and Imae got back together with his girlfriend.
He has since lost the title to an unknown boxer. He entered the class A tournament and lost brutally to Iga Shinobu, who is expected to take the Lightweight title next, probably against the unknown challenger that Imae had.
