Don Flamenco has made two appearances in the series. His first one was on the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, first as the initial opponent in the Major Circuit and later as #2 ranked opponent in the World Circuit. He later reappears in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, as the champion of the Major Circuit. Don Flamenco has also appeared in a Topps trading card series.
Don Flamenco is known for being the fighter for whom it can take the shortest time to knockout in both games he has appeared in, at 15 seconds on the NES (though this only works the first time the player faces Don Flamenco), and at 17.74 seconds on the Wii. The music played at the beginning of a match with him is an excerpt from the overture of Bizet's opera Carmen, an opera set in Spain.
Appearances
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream (1987–1990)
Major Circuit
Don Flamenco is a palette swap of Glass Joe, appearing as the first opponent in the Major Circuit, ranked #3. At the start of his fight, Flamenco dances with a rose in his mouth to the overture from Carmen, then shows off with a vicious uppercut.
He is a one-trick opponent when Little Mac first encounters him at the beginning of the Major Circuit. He tauntingly persuades Mac into punching him. When Mac does, Flamenco unleashes his large Flamenco Uppercut that can reduce Mac's health bar by about one-third. However, it is possible to dodge the uppercut if reacted to quickly enough. When he gets up from a knockdown, Don Flamenco loses his cool and rapidly spams his uppercut until Mac finishes a stun. He is one of the few boxers to have an infinite, by alternating left and right punches to the face until he falls down. Like Piston Hondo and Mr. Sandman, he can dodge Mac's Star Punch if attempted at an inappropriate time (e.g. when he is not throwing a punch and is taunting at Mac).
Attacks:
- Flamenco Uppercut: When Little Mac hits Don Flamenco, or Don Flamenco gets up, Don Flamenco will perform this. He winds up and throws a devastating uppercut that can drain 1/3 of Little Mac's health. Can be dodged or ducked.
- Right Hook: Only used when Little Mac is tired. Winds up to the right, before unleashing a slow hook. Can be dodged or ducked.
Stars:
- When he gets up, counter his Flamenco Uppercut.
Infinite:
- After dodging an uppercut, alternate left and right blows to his head. If done correctly, he will never recover from the stun until he's knocked down.
Instant Knockdown:
- Hit him with a Star Punch.
Instant Knockout:
- When the match starts, knock him down quickly with the infinite combo, then when he gets up, counter his first uppercut, dodge his second, stun him, and Star Punch him. If done correctly, he won't get up and the fight will be over quickly (as little as fifteen seconds).
World Circuit
Later in the game, Don Flamenco reappears, late in the World Circuit, as the #2 ranked opponent. Flamenco now has additional techniques (significantly faster versions of Glass Joe's hook and jab), doesn't taunt nearly as often, and doesn't always do his Flamenco Uppercut when he taunts Mac to incite him. His new moves are quick and make him a significantly more challenging opponent, so caution must be exercised, lest the fight drone on for very long.
Attacks:
- Flamenco Uppercut: When Little Mac hits Don Flamenco when he taunts, or Don Flamenco gets up, Don Flamenco will sometimes perform this. He winds up and throws a devastating uppercut that can drain 1/3 of Little Mac's health. Can be dodged or ducked.
- Right Hook: Quickly winds up to the right, before unleashing a powerful hook. Can be dodged or ducked.
- Left Jab: Quickly steps back, before charging at Mac and throwing a powerful jab. Can be dodged, blocked, or ducked.
Stars:
- When he gets up, counter his Flamenco Uppercut.
- Counter his Right Hook with a left uppercut.
- Counter his Left Jab with a right punch.
Infinite:
- After dodging an uppercut, do the following pattern to his head: Left, Left, Right. If done correctly, he will never recover from the stun until he's knocked down.
Punch-Out!! (2009)
Contender
Don Flamenco reappears in the Wii version of Punch-Out!! as the champion of the Major Circuit. It is shown during his montage that Don Flamenco was a bullfighter who used his uppercuts to take down bulls and would give a rose to beautiful women in the crowd. He appears as a ladies' man, and is shown to be very laid back, as his constant smiling is evident of this. But beware, as he is very concerned about his hair, for it is actually a toupee; if it is knocked off, he loses his temper. Roses appear to make up for a larger part of his character, as red roses fly off his head when he is punched, and he is also shown to be affectionately tossed various roses from the crowd before the fight. He is also shown to like perfume during intermissions. His voice is provided by well-known Spanish voice actor, Juan Amador Pulido.
Don Flamenco has varied attacks and is the hardest opponent thus far to defeat; inexperienced players can often take too long to knock him down on the first or second round. As with his NES appearance, he taunts Mac onto punching him, during which he will avoid the punch or block it and counterattack variedly. He also has a signature special attack this time around, the Rose Flurry, on which after stepping back and counting to three, he unleashes three right hooks. His toupee can be knocked down during the fight after being knocked down twice and when he has 1/4 of his stamina available; when this happens, he will lose his temper, stop taunting Mac as often from that point onward, and go on a rampage until he knocks Mac down. During this time, he can't be stunned unless two attacks of him miss.
If Mac loses to him, roses rain down upon him while he places one on Mac's chest and says "Adios.", showing there are no hard feelings towards him. If he loses, however, he will stumble about dramatically, pull out his rose, smell it, and then fall to the floor, lying in a position similar to that of a body in a coffin, while his rose wilts as if he was "dead".
Attacks:
- "Carmen Mi Amor" Uppercut: He avoids to his left before declaring "¡Carmen, mi amor!", then throws a delayed right uppercut. Can be dodged left or right. Counter with a hook for a star.
- Tango Uppercut: Don Flamenco's signature attack from his NES appearance, it is a fast right uppercut which he uses after blocking one of Mac's blows, quickly declaring "¡Toro!" before throwing it. He also performs it whenever he or Little Mac get up from a knockdown. If Mac is low on stamina, he sometimes uses a very quick version of this uppercut to finish Mac off after hitting him with a hook, saying "¡Mira!" instead before throwing it. Can be dodged left or right. Counter with a hook for a star.
- Left Hook: He avoids to his right, declares "Olé", then throws a hook. It can be dodged to the right or ducked under (seen above). Counter with a right punch for a star.
- Left Jab: After covering from one of Mac's attacks, he steps back while saying "¡Espera!", claps to his left as if playing castanets, and throws a very quick left jab. Can be dodged, ducked under or blocked; if blocked, Mac will earn a star after countering him. It can also be countered for a star, but the timing is very strict.
- Rampage Uppercut: Yet another version of his right uppercut, used only after he loses his toupee. It is similar to the "Carmen Mi Amor" uppercut, except he says "¡Mira esto!" or "¡Mira, mira!" before throwing it, and it is much more delayed and stronger. Can be dodged left or right. Counter with a hook for a star.
- Rose Flurry: Don Flamenco's special attack, he steps back while clapping to his right as if playing castanets while counting "¡Uno, dos, tres!", then unleashes three right hooks. All of them can be dodged to the left or ducked under. If Mac succesfully dodges all three hooks, Don Flamenco will tire himself out and vulnerably flash yellow, at which point Mac can hit him for a star and stun him. However, if Mac ducks under any of the hooks, Don Flamenco will finish the attack with a tango uppercut.
Stars:
- Counter his Carmen mi Amor uppercut with a hook.
- Counter his Tango Uppercut with a hook.
- Counter his left hook with a right punch.
- Counter his left jab with a right punch. Timing is very strict.
- Block his left jab, then counter him.
- Counter his Rampage Uppercut with a hook.
- Dodge (not duck) all three hooks from his Rose Flurry, which will cause Don Flamenco to tire himself out and flash yellow; hitting him during this time not only earns Mac a star, but also stuns Don Flamenco.
Infinite combo trick: After finishing a stun combo, countering a punch, or punching him while he has lost his toupee, alternate a delayed jab and a delayed hook, continually hitting him until knocking him down. If the stun finishes with a jab, the trick has to be started with a hook; if the stun finishes with a jab, the trick has to be started with a jab instead. The trick only works with alternate punches; for example, finishing a stun with a right jab requires Mac to use a delayed left hook, followed by a delayed right jab, and so on. This trick is vital to completing Don's second challenge the fastest way possible.
Instant KD trick:
- Hit him with a Three-Star Punch when he flashes yellow after he tires himself out from using his Rose Flurry (this only happens if all hooks are dodged and not ducked).
- Due to a glitch, he can also be knocked down by dodging only two of Don Flamenco's Rose Flurry hooks, then Three-Star punching him as he's performing his third hook. When he gets up, countering his punch, then jabbing, will not only stun Don, but earn Mac a second star, which is given to him when Don's tired from his Rose Flurry. This trick also works in Title Defense.
Instant KO trick:
- Little Mac cannot get hit at all if the trick is to even work. Counter any version of Don Flamenco's right uppercut, and perform the infinite combo trick on him. After he gets up, counter his comeback tango uppercut with a left hook for another star, then star punch him to finally knock him out.
- If the infinite is performed perfectly, the player can defeat Don Flamenco in as little as 17.74 seconds.
Glitch: If the player manages to knock Don Flamenco's toupee off by gathering three stars and performing a Three-Star Punch uppercut after dodging the Rose Flurry, knocking him down for the first or second time on the round, after Flamenco gets up and he is hit enough times, the clip in which Flamenco's toupee flies off his head will play again.
Title Defense Mode
Don Flamenco returns in Title Defense with a completely new attack scheme to defeat Little Mac and win the Champion's belt. He appears more aggressive and significantly bitter about his defeat when he returns in Title Defense, as shown in his bio, where he furiously rips up a poster of Little Mac with tears in his eyes before proceeding to lift dumbbells, preparing for the upcoming rematch. This time around, he takes on a black color scheme; his boxing trunks, gloves, rose, and even his hair and toupee are all black as their primary color, with red being a secondary color on his trunks and gloves. As well, black roses fly off Don Flamenco's head when Mac stuns him. This new color scheme shows his grudge at losing some of his fans, as well as the Major Circuit title, to Little Mac. If Mac loses to him, he subtly smiles and declares "¡Por Carmen!", turning his black rose to red with some sort of magic. Interestingly enough, if Don is the champion, his grudge for Little Mac remains on subsequent rematches.
Like in the previous fight, Don Flamenco taunts Mac into punching him, though he'll stop doing this as often after geting knocked down the second time. His toupee can still be knocked down during the fight after being knocked down twice and when he has 1/4 of his stamina available, and his rampage mode is much more dangerous than in Contender. This time around, after the first knockdown, he attempts to combo Little Mac after missing a hit, and can dodge and counter Mac's counter-counterattack. After getting knocked down once, he now starts to perform a "spinning backfist" punch, which can catch players off-guard the first times due to its sheer speed (though the attack itself is not very strong).
His Rose Flurry combo is significantly more dangerous: the move can now be up to five hooks, the number increasing from three to four after the first knockown, and to five after the second knockdown. The hooks can now hit from either the left or right sides. Lastly, he performs them faster, especially after getting knocked down three times, making the timing for dodging the entire attack less lenient. However, succesfully dodging (not ducking under) all of the hooks still tires him out and renders him vulnerably flashing yellow, allowing for a free star.
Don Flamenco can dodge Mac's Star Punch much faster than other boxers thus far (except Bear Hugger, who will always dodge, and Great Tiger, who can suddenly disappear starting with the second knockdown onward). The infinite combo is encouraged more to be performed in this fight, as Don Flamenco can become unpredictable as the fight goes on, making the fight much harder.
Attacks:
- "Carmen Mi Amor" Uppercut: Same as in Contender, but notably faster than in the former mode, as he uppercuts right before finishing his phrase. Can be dodged left or right. Counter with a hook for a star.
- Tango Uppercut: Same as in Contender, it is Don Flamenco's signature attack from his NES appearance. Slightly faster than in Contender. He also performs it whenever he gets up from a knockdown. He can also use a very quick version of this uppercut in a combo after hitting/missing Mac with a hook from the second knockdown onward, or to finish Mac off if he is low on stamina, saying "¡Mira!" instead before throwing it. Can be dodged left or right. Counter with a hook for a star.
- Left Hook: Same as in Contender, though slightly faster. He can now perform this attack quickly after landing/missing an uppercut in a combo from the first knockdown onward, or when he goes on a rampage after losing his toupee. It can be dodged to the right or ducked under. Counter with a right punch for a star.
- Left Jab: Same as in Contender, though slightly faster. He now performs this move instead of his tango uppercut when Little Mac gets up from the canvas, and will say "¡Aquí!" if this happens. Can be dodged, ducked under or blocked; if blocked, Mac will earn a star after countering him. It can also be countered for a star, but the timing is very strict.
- Spinning Backfist Punch: A new attack that he can perform from the first knockdown onward. He twirls to one of Mac's sides and performs a backhand punch. He can perform it from both sides. Can be dodged to the opposite side it comes, or blocked. Only by succesfully dodging will he be vulnerable to a stun. If blocked, he will back to the center as if he landed the move, but countering him afterwards will yield a star.
- Rampage Uppercut: Same as in Contender, though less dalayed and slightly stronger. Used only after he loses his toupee. He can now alternate between this move and his left hook during his rampage. Can be dodged left or right. Counter with a hook for a star.
- Rose Flurry: Don Flamenco's special attack, he steps back while alternately clapping to either his left or his right as if playing castanets while counting "¡Uno, dos, tres!", then unleashes three hooks, with all of them coming from either side in the same order he clapped. Once he gets knocked down, he will increase by one the number of hooks he throws, capping to five after getting knocked down twice. He will accordingly increase the count, saying "¡Cuatro!" after being knocked down once, and "¡Cinco!" after being knocked down twice. All of them can be dodged to the side they come, or ducked under. If Mac succesfully dodges all hooks in the combo, Don Flamenco will tire himself out and vulnerably flash yellow, at which point Mac can hit him for a star and stun him. However, if Mac ducks under any of the hooks, Don Flamenco will finish the attack with a tango uppercut (and quickly throw a hook at Mac if he misses the uppercut, from the second knockdown onward).
Infinite combo trick: The infinite trick is slightly different in Title Defense mode. After finishing a stun combo, countering a punch, or punching him while he has lost his toupee, alternate two delayed jabs and a delayed hook, continually hitting him until knocking him down. Regardless of how the stun ends, Mac needs to hit him with a jab from the opposite side he first punched Don in. From that point onward, Mac has to alternate between two delayed jabs and a delayed hook (depending on what side Don Flamenco is hit on). This trick is vital to completing Don's third challenge the fastest way possible.
Instant knockdown trick:
- Hit him with a Three-Star Punch when he flashes yellow after he tires himself out from using his Rose Flurry (this only happens if all hooks are dodged and not ducked).
Exhibition Challenges
Challenger:
- Knock Don's toupee off in Round 1!!
- TKO or KO Don in a round where he has not thrown more then 3 punches!
- Find 6 different ways to earn Stars.
Title Defense:
- Win the fight and NEVER get hit after knocking Don's toupee off!
- Win the fight and dodge EVERY hook in Don's Rose Flurry (3 hook Combo).
- Knock Don Flamenco down in under 40 seconds!
Quotes
Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream (NES):
- "Carmen, my love... I dance so sweet for you!"
- "Flamenco strikes back!! Return of Don!!" (World Circuit only)
- "Hey! Mr. Referee Mario... I like your hair!"
- "I'm a beautiful fighter. I have such a style!"
- "People like my hair. Don't mess my hair."
Punch-Out!! (Wii):
- "Adiós.", meaning "Good-bye." (Contender win)
- "¡Ahí esta!", meaning "There it is!" (Title Defense, after hitting Mac)
- "¡Anda, anda!", meaning "Come on, come on!" (Taunting for making Mac punch)
- "¡Aquí!" meaning "Over here!" (Title Defense jab)
- "¡Ay, mamá!", meaning "Oh, mama!" (After dodging Don's uppercut)
- "¡Ay, pobre!", meaning "Oh, you poor thing!" (When dodging a star punch)
- "Aaay, mi Carmen...", meaning "Ooh, my Carmen..." (When Don gets knocked down with a hook)
- "Bien hecho.", meaning "Well done." (After dodging Don's hook)
- "Bien visto.", meaning "Well seen/You got me." (After dodging Don's hook)
- "¡Carmen, mi amor!", meaning "Carmen, my love!" (Before throwing his slow uppercut)
- "¡Casi!", meaning "Almost!" (After dodging Don's jab in Title Defense)
- "¿Es que nunca has visto una rosa negra?" meaning "What, haven't you ever seen a black rose?" (Title Defense intermission)
- "¡Espera!", meaning "Wait!" (Before jabbing Mac)
- "¡Fallé!", meaning "I missed!" (After dodging Don's uppercut)
- "¿Has visto hombre? ¿Cómo enamoro a las chicas?" meaning "Have you seen it, man? How I make the girls fall in love with me?" (Contender intermission)
- "¡Me has pillao!" meaning "You got me!" (After dodging Don's hook)
- "Me llaman Don, Don Flamenco.", meaning "They call me Don, Don Flamenco." (Title Defense Intermission)
- "¡Mira esto!", meaning "Look at this!" (Before throwing his rampage uppercut)
- "¡Mira, mira!", meaning "Look, look!" (Before throwing his rampage uppercut)
- "¿No te parece que huelo *sniff* a victoria?" meaning "Don't you think I smell *sniff* like victory?" (Contender Intermission)
- "¡Olé!", meaning "Bravo!" (when throwing a hook)
- "¡Perfecto!" meaning "Perfect!" (When Mac gets up from the canvas)
- "¿Pero cómo...?", meaning "But how...?" (After dodging Don's jab)
- "¡Por Carmen!", meaning "For Carmen!" (Title Defense win; Don's rose turns red afterwards)
- "¿Será posible?", meaning "How can it be?" (After dodging Don's jab)
- "¡Toma!", meaning "Take this!" (Title Defense, after hitting Mac)
- "¡Toro!" meaning, "Bull!" (Before throwing fast uppercut)
- "¡Vamos, vamos!", meaning "Let's go, let's go!" (Taunting for making Mac punch)
- "¡Venga, venga!", meaning "Come on, come on!" (Taunting for making Mac punch)
- "¡Venga, venga! ¡Ja, ja, ja! ¿Qué pasa? ¿Quieres más?" meaning "Come on, come on! Ha, ha, ha! What's the matter? You want some more?" (When Mac gets knocked down)
- "¡Venga, ven a por mí!", meaning "Come on, come at me!" (Taunting for making Mac punch)
- "¡Uno, dos, tres!,", meaning "One, two three!" (Before Rose Flurry)
- "¡Uno, dos, tres, cuatro!", meaning "One, two, three, four!" (Before Title Defense Rose Flurry)
- "¡Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco!", meaning "One, two, three, four, five! (Before Title Defense Rose Flurry)
Doc Louis Tips:
- "Hey, Mac baby! Don Flamenco leaves himself open before he throws the uppercut! Take advantage of it, son!"
- "The belt's almost yours, son! No one expected you to make it this far, son! Let's give them a big surprise! Knock Flamenco out!"(Contender)
- "Hey, Mac baby. Remind me to pick up some milk after the fight."
- "It takes two to Flamenco, baby. Don won't be able to get himself another dance partner after you're done with him."
- "Toupee, or not toupee? That is the question."
- "You got to keep your feet moving, Mac. Take the lead, then dance away from Flamenco's counter."
- "Toe-to-toe, don'tcha-doe! Toe-to-toe, with Flamenco! You got it, baby! You got it!"
- "Every rose has a thorn, Mac! Be that thorn in Flamenco's side! Be there, baby!"
Trivia
General
- Don Flamenco has become a nickname for disgraced South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, largely because of the strong resemblance Sanford has to Flamenco and that he committed adultery with a Spanish-speaking woman, likely a reference to Don Flamenco's image as a ladies' man in the Wii version.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream
- One of Don's quotes references the Star Wars franchise ("Flamenco strikes back" references "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Don" references "Return of the Jedi").
- Don Flamenco and Glass Joe are both missing a right part of their foot. This is a sprite error.
- It is possible to infinitely combo Don Flamenco. After you provoke him to do his uppercut, alternate your punches. This will lead Don into an infinite combo unable to do anything unless you stop punching him.
Punch-Out!! (Wii)
- It is assumed that his beloved Carmen is the woman he gives the rose to in his Contender mode bio.
- Interestingly, his montage in Contender mode shows how Mac can instantly knock down Bald Bull on all games he has appeared, by showing a bull getting knocked by Don's hook.
- One of Doc Louis' quotes in Title Defense, "Toupee or not toupee? That is the question.", is a pun on the Shakespeare line, "To be or not to be? That is the question."
- When Don wins a match in Title Defense, his rose magically turns from black to red; fans of Punch-Out!! suggest that his rose withered and turned black when his desire to defeat Little Mac arose (and loss of his fans after losing his title), but turns back to red after he defeats Little Mac.
- It is possible to KO Don Flamenco without knocking off his toupee in Contender, but it doesn't have any effect on the animation.
- Notably, in the Contender Major Circuit screen, his toupee disappears as if he had lost it during the match.
- It is possible to punch Flamenco's toupee into pieces when KOing him in Title Defense. After knocking him down twice, if he hasn't lost his toupee, KOing him with a Three-Star Punch will break his toupee into pieces.
- In the Title Defense World A screen, after defeating Don Flamenco, he can be seen without his toupee trying to get his rose upright unsuccessfully.
- In Contender, despite what one of the game's challenges suggests, there are actually 7 star opportunities instead of 6 against him. This is likely a mistake, or as a way to make the challenge slightly easier.
- Like Super Macho Man, Don is seen as very popular with the ladies. However, the audience noticeably likes Don more than Super Macho Man.
- During his KO/TKO animation in Contender mode, petals from his rose fall onto him when he falls down. However, this does not happen in Title Defense mode (possibly because the black rose has been withered). Don, Bear Hugger, and Great Tiger are the only characters to have different versions of their KO animations in Contender and Title Defense.
- Just like in the NES version of Punch-Out, Don Flamenco has an infinite combo as well. However, unlike the NES counterpart, instead of only alternating your punches, you must hit him twice in the face, once in the stomach, rinse and repeat. While still alternating your punches.
External links
- Punch-out KO Don Flamenco in 15 seconds at YouTube
- Punch-Out!! Wii - Don Flamenco - 0'17"86 (shunkalor) at YouTube