The Final Round, released in Japan as Hard Puncher (Japanese: ハードパンチャー - 血まみれの栄光 -, Hepburn: Hādopanchā: Chimamire no Eikō, lit.

Winning advances the player to the next opponent, climbing the KBA (Konami Boxing Association) rankings along the way.

During a bout, the block punch button protects the player's fighter from enemy attacks and switches the character's guard between face and body each time it is pressed.

Most of the voice samples have been changed from English to Japanese, and the presence of a few Easter Eggs not included in the American release.

These include a flock of birds appearing in the ring at the start of a fight (damage based), an alternate head (Moai) for the referee (time based), a bonus hidden in the "Power" training session, and two different circuits (game modes) made accessible via joystick input at the start of a new game.

The game's Soundtrack was produced by Konami Kukeiha Club and published by King Records on July 21, 1989 as part of "Konami Game Music Collection Vol.0" along additional soundtracks from Flak Attack (MX 5000), The Main Event, Gang Busters, City Bomber, and Devastators.

[7] The Main Event, a wrestling arcade game released by Konami that same year, shares many sound samples with The Final Round, most notably the referee's screams and count.

In Japan, Game Machine listed The Final Round on their February 1, 1989 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.