Amateur boxing in the last 59 years. Impact of rules changes on the type of verdicts recorded and implications on boxers’ health

Abstract

Background/aim Several changes have occurred in Olympic boxing (OB) in the last few decades, influencing the results in official competitions. The aim of this study was to assess how the evolution of rules changed the rate of the results that can influence boxers' health. Methods From a web-research, the results of OB tournaments from 1952 to 2011 were reviewed (29 357 bouts). For each event, rate of knockout (KO), refereestop contest (RSC), RSC-Head (RSCH), RSC-Injury (RSCI), RSC-Outclassed (RSCO), abandon, disqualification and points decisions were recorded. In our analysis we investigated the changes that occurred after the introduction of the standing-count rule (1964), mandatory head guard (1984), computerised scoring system (1992), RSCO (2000RSCO ( -2009 Results The most important results were: (1) an RSCI rate increase (0.72-2.42%, p<0.03) after the standingcount rule; (2) a lower RSCI (0.60%, p<0.001) and higher RSCH (1.31-4.92%, p<0.001) and RSC (9.71-13.05%, p<0.03) rate with mandatory head guard; (3) a KO rate reduction (6.44-2.09%, p<0.001) with the computerised scoring system; (4) an RSC (13.15-5.91%, p<0.05) and RSCH (4.23-1.41%, p<0.001) rate reduction comparing 5×2-4×2 bouts. Conclusions In the last six decades, along with rule changes in OB, a clear reduction of health challenging results was observed. In the near future, older rules will be adopted (no head guard and a manual scoring system). Continued medical surveillance is important to ensure that new rule changes do not result in poor medical outcomes for the boxers.

Boxing injury epidemiology in the Great Britain team: a 5-year surveillance study of medically diagnosed injury incidence and outcome

“…Modern amateur boxing rules, which are described by the l'Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIDA) Open Boxing (AOB) technical rules, have changed frequently 1. From 2005 to 2009, the rules remained stable and the only major change was the move from four rounds of 2 min to three rounds of 3 min in 2009.…”

Neurological tests improve after Olympic-style boxing bouts: a pretournament and post-tournament study in the 2016 Women’s World Boxing Championships

“…In contrast, professional boxing bouts are much longer and can last for 12 rounds of 3 min without headguards. Accordingly, Olympic-style boxing, commonly called ‘amateur’, is less aggressive than professional boxing1 as referee/physician criteria for stopping matches is more strict. Historically, professional boxing has been considered dangerous due to repetitive head impact exposure that may result in concussion or cumulative trauma 2.…”

“…Historically, professional boxing has been considered dangerous due to repetitive head impact exposure that may result in concussion or cumulative trauma 2. Olympic-style boxing has a less violent history with serious injuries being rare,1 and no strong evidence exists supporting a relationship with chronic brain injury 3. Both versions of the sport, however, carry a risk of concussion.…”

Because not all blows to the head are the same

“…A critical issue in interpreting the available evidence about the use of headgear for preventing head injuries in sport over time is that headgear rules have coincided with other rule changes or implementation that could also have influenced head injury risk 1. Furthermore, the proposed rule changes may change the nature of the way amateur boxing is conducted, which in turn may result in more head impacts from both glove and head to head contact.…”