Boxing is a high-pressure PvP fighting style in Gakuran built around a safe, invulnerable heavy attack, chip damage that leaks through blocks, and extra heavy uptime for anyone who lands perfect blocks.
Boxing is one of Gakuran’s Epic-rarity fighting styles, and it leans hard toward player-versus-player fighting rather than grinding. The whole kit rewards patient, defensive play that suddenly turns aggressive: a heavy that ignores incoming damage, block pressure that punishes turtling, and a passive that hands you your best tool back faster the better you defend. Its exact unlock steps and raw numbers aren’t nailed down in public info, so this guide keeps those cautious and focuses on what Boxing actually does in a fight.
What Boxing is in Gakuran
Boxing sits in Gakuran’s roster of selectable fighting styles alongside Basic, Muay Thai, Karate, Wrestling, and Hikari/Hakari (the spelling of that last one floats around, so double-check it in-game). Community data lines up on Boxing being an Epic style — a step above Basic, and below Legendary-tier picks like Wrestling.
The style suits players who like duels and want a kit that punishes over-aggression. If you enjoy baiting an opponent into swinging first and then blowing them up on the counter, Boxing is one of the most forgiving styles to do it with. Its exact yen cost and unlock method aren’t documented in public references yet, so treat the acquisition side as unconfirmed while the moveset itself is well understood.
Boxing’s moves and passives
| Move or passive | Effect |
|---|---|
| Basic attack (M1) | Fast light strings for pressure and spacing; exact damage and timing aren’t published. |
| Heavy attack (M2) | The core tool — a purple, invulnerable heavy used as a punish and reversal. |
| Untouchable | M2 gains I-frames and is uninterruptible, so you can ignore incoming attacks while the heavy is active. |
| Perfect Reflex | Landing a perfect block cuts your M2 cooldown by 1 second off its remaining time. |
| Guard Pierce III | Your attacks deal 20% chip damage through an enemy’s normal block. |
Like every style in Gakuran, Boxing has a basic M1 attack for quick pressure and a heavy M2 that acts as its signature tool. The M2 is the reason people pick Boxing: while it’s active the character briefly flashes purple, marking an I-frame window where opponents simply can’t interact or trade damage with you. Around that sit three named passives that shape how the whole style plays.
Boxing’s passive list clearly supports three effects. Some wiki layouts imply four passives per style, but only three show up for Boxing in current public entries, so a fourth one isn’t something to count on.
Where Boxing shines in PvP
| Strength | Best use |
|---|---|
| Invulnerable M2 (Untouchable) | Throw it into enemy heavies and lunges to win the trade for free. |
| Block chip (Guard Pierce III) | Grind down turtling opponents and force them to stop blocking. |
| Perfect Reflex cooldown refund | Reward good defense with more frequent access to the heavy. |
| Speed on short/mobile builds | Dash-weave and shift angles to dodge guard breaks and keep pressure on. |
Boxing’s reputation in PvP comes down to how safe its offense is. Untouchable turns the M2 into one of the most oppressive tools in the game — you can throw it out into an enemy’s aggression and win the trade by default, because their commitment lands on nothing while you’re invulnerable. Stack that with Guard Pierce III and a defensive opponent still bleeds HP and posture just from holding block, which forces them to move instead of turtle.
The other half is Perfect Reflex: every perfect block you land is effectively a partial cooldown refund on your heavy, so skilled defensive play directly buys you more I-frame heavies. Community tier lists place Boxing near the top of the meta for exactly this reason, and short, mobile builds are commonly described as the strongest way to play it — though “best style” and “Short is mandatory” are community opinions rather than hard rules.
Playing Boxing well against real opponents
The single biggest habit to build is treating your M2 as a punish, not an opener. Its value is the purple I-frame window, and that value evaporates if you dump it into neutral. Hold it for the moments an opponent is committed — an obvious lunge, a telegraphed heavy, a whiffed swing — and let your invulnerability make their attack lose automatically. A traded hit during your I-frames is a trade you can’t lose.
On the M1 side, movement matters more than raw button-mashing. A clean pattern is two M1s, dash sideways, two more M1s, then dash back — constantly changing your angle so the opponent struggles to line up a guard break. Short height helps here because tighter hitboxes and faster movement make that dash-weaving genuinely evasive rather than cosmetic, which is why short builds get so much praise.
Lean on your chip, too. Guard Pierce III means you don’t need to break a block outright to win — pressuring a blocking opponent slowly drains their HP and posture, and most players eventually panic and try to move or retaliate. That’s your cue to reset spacing or bait out the swing you can punish with M2. Finally, put real practice into perfect blocks: each one shaves a second off your heavy’s cooldown through Perfect Reflex, so a player who defends well simply gets to use Boxing’s best move more often. Timing perfect blocks is the skill that separates a good Boxer from a great one.
Save your M2 for enemy heavies and lunges — trading during Boxing’s purple I-frame window means their commitment loses by default.
Mistakes that sink Boxing players
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Spamming M1 and ignoring the M2 | Bank the heavy as a safe punish or reversal instead of a filler attack. |
| Wasting the Untouchable I-frames | Time M2 to eat an enemy heavy or lunge, not to open a trade in neutral. |
| Never practicing perfect blocks | Drill perfect-block timing to keep your M2 cooldown low via Perfect Reflex. |
| Standing still | Dash and move laterally to dodge guard breaks and keep angles changing. |
| Over-committing into blocks | Use Guard Pierce III chip as slow pressure to force posture breaks, not as a rush. |
| Assuming every build plays the same | Medium and tall builds don’t get short’s speed — adjust spacing instead of copying short-build habits. |
Most losses on Boxing come from misusing its two best assets — the I-frame heavy and the chip damage. Players either spam M1 and forget the M2 punish exists, or they over-value the chip and walk straight into blocks that get them counter-hit. The fixes are mostly about patience and positioning rather than mechanics.
If Boxing clicks for you, the next thing to sort out is your height and stat build — short versus medium or tall, and whether you lean posture or damage — since it changes how aggressively you can dash-weave. It’s also worth learning how fighting styles are unlocked and rerolled efficiently, including Boxing’s own acquisition steps, which currently aren’t documented publicly.
From there, matchup knowledge pays off fast. Boxing is regularly mentioned in the same breath as Wrestling and Hikari/Hakari as top-tier picks, so understanding how your invulnerable heavy and chip pressure line up against those styles is the natural next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boxing good for PvP in Gakuran?
Yes. Boxing is widely regarded as one of the strongest PvP styles because its M2 is invulnerable and uninterruptible, its attacks chip through blocks, and landing perfect blocks refunds heavy cooldown. It’s a top-meta pick, though “the single best style” is community opinion rather than a hard fact.
What rarity is Boxing?
Boxing is an Epic-rarity fighting style — above Basic and below Legendary styles like Wrestling.
How do you unlock Boxing?
The exact unlock method, trainer, location, and yen cost aren’t documented in public references yet, so treat any specific price or procedure as unconfirmed until you see it in-game.
What does Boxing’s M2 do?
M2 is Boxing’s heavy attack and its signature tool. Thanks to the Untouchable passive it gains I-frames and can’t be interrupted — the character flashes purple during that window — so you can throw it into an enemy’s attack and win the trade without taking damage.
Is Short height best for Boxing?
Short is the most commonly recommended pairing, with players pointing to faster movement and tighter hitboxes that suit dash-weaving and quick M1 strings. It’s a strong community recommendation rather than a requirement — other builds work, they just play differently.
More questions⤵
Does Boxing have four passives?
Only three passives clearly show up for Boxing: Untouchable, Perfect Reflex, and Guard Pierce III. Some layouts imply four passives per style, but a fourth Boxing passive isn’t confirmed, so plan around the three known ones.
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