So I just played that Honda player from toronto, davero...he beat the fuck out of me. I don't know what it is about that matchup but i feel like i can do absolutely nothing. Even when I have the life lead I still don't feel safe because all of Honda's shit does so much damage. What the hell else can I do in this matchup? I floating fierce to stuff any headbutts/buttslams, and focus dash out of the 2nd buttslam hit, but 3-4 combos with hands and I'm fucked.
We'll play for real this week and take some notes.
Off the top of my head, you basically just have to play a completely zero risk game if life is even or you have the lead. Basically, when I start this match off I'm hoping the Boxer does something dumb. I'm looking for a dash punch I can hit with c. LP for the life lead, or a TAP or dash punch I can whiff punish with s. HP. So don't be that guy. Don't use any dash punches over half screen, and basically make sure that none of them will whiff. If you aren't sure, they probably will because Honda is dancing at the edge of their range.
When you have the life lead, just friggin sit on it. Don't do anything, don't hit buttons, but don't get cornered. You have focus for random buttslams. If you end up blocking one, chances are another, LK one is coming. Block High and the 2nd hit will whiff, so charge that focus for a nice BnB. Just watch for the (unsafe) ochio mixup. Don't try jumping away, it might work once but chances are you are just gonna get hit. Don't try throwing the buttslam unless you are sure it will work (only HK is -3, all others are -2). If he tries to jump in, c. HP or headbutt all day. They mentioned on the Honda forums Boxer can really shut down jump ins from far away with HP headbutt.
If you don't have the life lead, you can probably out footsie honda with c.HK alone. That move is faster and better than any of Honda's pokes. Just don't whiff moves here and you should be ok, other wise you eat s.HP or c.LP xx Hands. If you get really close up, remember that besides a psychic EX. Headbutt, c. LP beats basically everything Honda has. All of Honda's moves are 4 frame startup or more. So if you are close don't be afraid to hammer on it, just block high if I neutral jump or it doesn't stuff buttslam. I can't poke, ochio is 5 frames, basically just tick throw all day, bait techs for counterhit, etc. Honda's also get anxious here sometime so if you know they are using EX headbutt to hit your tick throw attempts, try faking to get them to burn meter.
Remember, you can always safe jump Honda for a free if you get a knockdown. For that matter, when he has no meter you can gamble on jump ins if you really need it, but at least try to get him to lose charge first. If not you'll probably lose to lp headbutt, but even then you might stuff it, and that can lead to a lot of damage up close.
Besides that, your best way to chip and get closer to Honda are unpredictable lp. dash punches. Remember Honda can hit them with a lp. headbutt, but that's tough timing. Pay attention to what Honda does after the dash punch. If nothing, you can walk up and get into footsie range. If he pokes with a laggy normal, like far HK, free jump in combo for you. If he neutral jumps, I think you can hit him with another dash punch. If he jumps in, cr. HP.
That's about all I've got just thinking about it. I'd need to play again to get more info than that. If you remember any situations that this Davero guy used that really messed you up, I'm all ears. I'd love some new things for my game plan, but together we also might be able to work out a counter.
PS - That tip you gave me the other day about back dashing was awesome. Honda's dash is pretty shitty, but considering I never use it, it will really help me out. It's working in just about all the situations I hoped it would =D
