Strategy
Boxer is a character who can create great offense, but absolutely struggles against those who can avoid it via crouching. Due to this, Boxer's matchups end up becoming very polarizing. Those who can duck his good moves end up causing Boxer to do way more for less, and those who can't end up seeing the full force of Boxer's offensive potency, which is actually a lot better than what meets the eye.
Team Position
Best Position: Middle
Though Boxer can be a really good point character, that only really is the case if he is against a character that has to deal with dash straight, as Boxer's frequent use of special moves builds a lot of meter. However, in most situations, Boxer is best effective with meter, and that goes true even if he is in a bad matchup. You can use Boxer at point and he can be good, but if you want an even better composed team, you place Boxer at the middle position.
Neutral
In CvS2, you need good neutral or some other extremely good gimmick to succeed as a character. Boxer unfortunately lacks in the neutral department, with only a few good normals to throw out.
Pokes
st.HP: A great button with enormous range and okay damage. The main drawback to using this button is that it can be crouched under by characters shorter than the shotos. This is pretty bad for Boxer, as this his best poke. You can still use it to check prejumps but in a matchup where the opponent ducks this button, its use decreases exponentially.
st.HK: The dollar store replacement for st.HP. If st.HP gets ducked in a given matchup, you will have to use this normal in a ground to ground situation. Here are the characters that duck st.HP:
- Cammy, Claw (63)
- Yun, Morrigan (62)
- Chun-Li, Vice, Hibiki, Yuri, Sakura, Mai, Kim, Nakoruru, Rock (61)
- Iori, Athena, Maki (60)
For everyone else not named here, you will use st.HP instead, as st.HK is worse than st.HP overall and is redundant if st.HP isn't neutralized.
cr.MP: A pretty okay button. It has quick startup but low range. It beats out slower buttons but can't combo into anything besides super from farther out.
cr.HK: The recovery is pretty large so this button has to make contact. It's only -3 on block, so with spacing it is unpunishable. The reward is a close knockdown, which can be very beneficial for a bully character like Boxer.
Dash Straight: This only applies to characters who can't duck this move. If they can, don't use this much. With that said, this is by far Boxer's best general poke, it has a ton of range, safety and speed. st.HP is more or less a replacement for Dash Straight and st.HK is a replacement for st.HP. This is at the top of the poke hierarchy. The HP version is only -3, so even fullscreen poking is an option, just don't do it predictably.
Characters who can't crouch under Dash Straight:
- Raiden
- Geese
- Chang
- Zangief
- Sagat
- Eagle
- Rugal
- Yamazaki
- Benimaru
- E.Honda
- Dhalsim
- Terry
- Kyo
- Joe
Characters who can crouch under Dash Straight:
- Guile
- Boxer
- Blanka
- Dictator
- Kyosuke
- Todo
- Ryo
- Ryu
- Ken
- Akuma
- Dan
- Rolento
- Haohmaru
- Claw
- Cammy
- Morrigan
- Yun
- Chun-Li
- Sakura
- Mai
- Kim
- Vice
- Yuri
- Nakoruru
- Rock
- Hibiki
- Maki
- Iori
- Athena
TAP: Now, this may come as a surprise if you're familiar with how Boxer's TAP got nerfed but hear me out. At low charge levels TAP is pretty useless. That much is true. At high levels (7 ~ Final), it becomes far more threatening. When multiple final TAPs are on the table Boxer's damage potency becomes the highest in the game. However, due to its long range, it has to be done from farther out so it doesn't get stuffed in the mid range or up close. When used right, Boxer's damage skyrockets.
Anti-Zone
Dash Straight: A very powerful fireball interrupt tool. It's even stronger when RC'd. Since every fireball in the game bar Low Tiger Shot is done in a standing position, nobody can low profile Boxer's dash straight during their fireball animation (Sagat is a fatty so his Low Tiger won't low profile either). Another reason why Dash Straight is a very powerful move.
st.HP: When you don't have charge and need to interrupt a button or fireball startup from farther out, this is your go-to. It may not grant the same general reward or consistency as Dash Straight, but it works when used right.
RC Dash Ground Straight: The reason why this is labeled as RC and Dash Straight is not is because this one has a far greater chance to either get interrupted or blocked due to its higher startup, so to compensate an RC gives it that extra protection. Grants the best reward of the ones previously mentioned.
Gigaton Blow: This one is a no brainer. A full screen instantaneous super that has a ton of i-frames on startup? This is the ultimate anti-zoning tool, and gives you a ton of damage. A mindful opponent will even stop zoning entirely knowing that Boxer can essentially punish even the slightest of attempts to zone.
Pressure
Boxer's pressure separates into two categories: Who has to deal with Dash Straight and who doesn't. When Boxer has Dash Straight available to him, he ends up being an extremely oppressive character similar to his CvS1 appearance. If he can't use Dash Straight, his offensive presence is crippled considerably, but still has some tricks he can use.
Up-Close Options
cr.LP: A fast and mashable jab, perfect for any follow up option, whether it be into his Dash Straight, tick throw, or more pressure.
cr.MP: Mostly used for stuffing out any counter jabs. Can also confirm into all of his combo enders at close range.
cr.HK: Similarly to cr.MP, it stuffs out any attempted counter attack. When it works, you get a close knockdown and great spacing for additional pressure afterwards. It's also safe for the most part so there's not a lot of risk if it connects, just be weary of rolls, dodges or jumps that can bypass it entirely.
st.HP/HK: This is mostly a block string ender or anti-jump tool after a quick series of jabs. Deals good guard bar and sets up good spacing for Dash Straight.
Low Jump j.HP/HK: It doesn't matter what you use between j.HP or j.HK, Boxer has a very strong short hop game. This is a very quick and damaging overhead and when timed right can make it safe once you land on the ground, but it can't confirm into anything meaningful.
Dash Straight: This move carries Boxer in many ways, but the most noticeable one is his pressure. It's safe on block and the LP version is an absolute beast up close. Boxer can essentially pressure and then take back the distance he lost from pushback with a Dash Straight.
Dash Upper: This particular move serves two purposes up close, the first being a way of catching jumps. It does that job quite nicely as it is one of Boxer's anti airs. The second is that it is meant to reposition Boxer quickly after he falls out of range from a block string. The idea is that you intentionally whiff the attack since it will whiff on all crouchers, and quickly do a throw or cr.LP. The total duration of the move at this range is around 20 frames, and though it is reactable, if the opponent has been stuck in blockstun for a while, they might not expect an intentionally whiffed attack. Overall, don't use this too much, but it's a great surprise tactic so try it maybe once or twice per round every now and then.
Blockstrings
* x n means the move notated can be repeated as many times until it falls out of range.
Runstop cr.LP x n : Boxer can effectively do runstop pressure. It's pretty good and works the guard bar, but due to Boxer's rather weak blockstrings without Dash Straight it's about the best he has without Dash Straight.
cr.LP, cr.LP, cr.HK: Pretty basic block string, ends in his sweep. It's not punishable, and does okay guard bar.
cr.LP, cr.LP, st.HP: Similar to the one above, it's okay at what it does. This one catches attempted jumps.
cr.MP, cr.LP, cr.HK/st.HP: Deals better guard bar than the first two, but requires point blank range to work.
cr.LP, cr.MP xx LP Dash Straight: A strong string into dash straight, does good guard bar and sets up Boxer for more pressure.
cr.LP, cr.MP xx LK Dash Upper: A way to get positioning back if you don't have dash straight for that. Dash Upper will whiff, and due to its quick duration can catch the opponent by surprise.
Throw Setups
Tick Throw: Anything from cr.LP works as a tick throw. Because most of Boxer's attacks are strikes, doing a throw from a cr.LP when he normally does more pressure afterwards is a good way to catch the opponent off guard.
Empty Dash/Run: Boxer has a quick dash with no recovery and a decent run, he can immediately do his throw afterwards. Similarly to what was stated above, doing nothing when normally Boxer does strikes during pressure catches the opponent off guard.
Whiffed Dash Upper: Because of Dash Upper's quick speed when whiffed, Boxer can throw afterwards or go into light pressure which can still lead into a throw. Either way, without the opponent mashing this is a good way of setting up a potential throw.
Defense
Boxer's defense is decent. He has serviceable anti airs, good anti pressure, and the only thing that alludes him is a decent reversal attack that doesn't cost meter. Overall he has solid defense and can deal with hard pressure decently if the Boxer player utilizes his tools properly.
Anti-Airs
st.MP: Pretty slow startup but serviceable at what it does, that being jumps that are on top of Boxer.
st.LP/LK: Mostly for emergency situations, but still works fine. st.LK hits a little higher but has shorter range.
cr.HP: A better version of st.MP. However it tends to trade a lot. Still Boxer's preferred anti air up close.
j.LP/LK: If any grounded anti airs don't work, a quick air to air will do the job for the most part. It's not the first option you'd go to but if nothing else really works then this is an option.
Dash Upper: A very consistent anti air option that counters both jump ins and back jumps. The distance at which they're jumping at determines what version you use. Farther out, you use either medium or heavy dash upper, up close, use LK dash upper. It becomes a guaranteed safety anti air when RC'd, so there's no chance that it trades. Overall Boxer's best anti air.
LP Buffalo Headbutt: A pretty slow anti air, but the added invul makes it pretty consistent when used right. At about a 45 degree angle distance is the right spot to use it at.
Anti-Pressure
cr.LP: A mashable jab that works up close to steal a turn or give Boxer room to counterattack more thoughtfully.
Dash Straight: Better when RC'd, however Boxer's Dash Straight can help when being pressured due to having a 5f startup up close. Not only that, but landing a dash straight usually means he gets more pressure afterwards.
Gigaton Blow: If the opponent starts getting a little too unsafe with their pressure and you have meter, let them know their mistake by swiping a cool 6800 damage from their health.
Okizeme
Boxer's okizeme game is pretty okay. It's not really the focal point of his offensive game and is merely just a compliment to it.
- Corpse Hop: Boxer's dash corpse hops, or crosses over the opponent when they're knocked down. This sets up the left-right mix.
- Strike/Throw: Unfortunately, Boxer's okizeme is a basic strike/throw mostly. His kick throw is an untechable knockdown and his strike also leads to a close knockdown once you gain charge.
Groove Strategy
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If you want to see X’s Custom Combos, refer to the Combos Section
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