PUBLISHED RESEARCH SUPPORTING USE OF HEADGUARD
(9 articles, below)
PUBLISHED RESEARCH SUPPORTING HEADGUARD REMOVAL
(1 article, below)
Loosemore M, Butler C, et al. “Use of head guards in AIBA boxing tournaments — A cross-sectional observational study” brief report in Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2016
"Removing head guards may reduce the already small risk of acute brain injury in amateur boxing."
Bianco M, Loosemore M, et al. “Amateur boxing in the last 59 years. Impact of rules changes on the type of verdicts recorded and implications on boxers’ health.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2012
“There is no doubt that modern amateur boxing [as practiced with amateur rules] is a safer discipline than observed some decades ago.” “After the introduction of mandatory head guard, there was a significant reduction of RSCI [Referee Stops Contest due to Injury]… and KO [knockout]…”
"In the last 59 years, improvements in health challenging verdicts recorded have been achieved by changes in the rules of boxing. It is of concern that the recent rule changes [toward professional rules] will be a backward step in athletes’ health safety."
McCrory P, Falvey, E, Turner M. “Returning to the golden age of boxing” in British Journal Sports Medicine, 2012
"It is inevitable that the removal of headgear goes with the more aggressive style of boxing as seen in professional fighting. This in turn will mean more injuries to participants that seem to go against the Olympic ideal of amateurs striving for athletic greatness rather than the rewards of the prize ring."
"As discussed above, what little published evidence exists actually supports helmets as a means of reducing impact to the brain and presumably brain injury resulting from boxing."
“…why AIBA sanctioned boxing would want to move towards a professional model of boxing with the likely higher acute injury rates (eg, concussion) seems intuitively counterproductive.”
Bartsch A, Benzel E, et al. “Boxing and mixed martial arts: preliminary traumatic neuromechanical injury risk analyses from laboratory impact dosage data” in Journal of Neurosurgery, 2012
“Our results suggest that head and neck impact dosages accumulate fastest in MMA and boxing conditions absent protective headgear.” “…the boxing glove–boxing headgear condition had the most meaningful reduction in most of the parameters quantified and should provide the best overall head and neck injury protection for competitors.”
Daneshvar DH, Baugh CM, Nowinski CJ, et al. “Helmets and Mouth Guards: The Role of Personal Equipment in Preventing Sport-Related Concussions” in Clinics in Sports Medicine, 2011
“Protective headgear and helmets decrease the potential for severe TBI after a collision by reducing the acceleration of the head on impact, thereby decreasing the brain-skull collision and the sudden deceleration-induced axonal injury.”
Macintosh A and Patton D “Boxing headguard performance in punch machine tests” in British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2015
“The data support the opinion that current AIBA headguards can play an important role in reducing the risk of concussion and superficial injury in boxing competition and training.”
Dickinson P and Rempel P “Prohibiting headgear for safety in amateur boxing? Opinion of the Canadian Boxing Community: an online poll” in Sports Medicine Open, 2016
“There is very little support for the banning of headgear proposed by the AIBA…. the studies that do exist on headgear use in amateur boxing demonstrate a protective benefit….there is currently little justification or evidence-based research to support the removal of headgear in amateur boxing.”
“...our data show that technical knockouts and injuries such as skin splits are higher [after 2013].” “...boxers and possibly more importantly their coaches and corner team should be aware of the increased risk of technical knockouts and facial skin splits.”
“Systematic analysis of the literature shows that there is limited evidence to support the removal of headguards in elite men's boxing competitions.... while headguards do protect against facial cuts and skulls fractures, less is known about the protective effect against concussions and other traumatic brain injuries.”
Dau N, Chein H, et al. “Effectiveness of boxing headgear for limiting injury” in American Society of Biomechanics, 2006
“The utilization of boxing headgear significantly reduces the peak punch force delivered to an opponent. In addition, both angular and linear acceleration values are decreased when the headgear is in place. Thus, the resulting HIC is also diminished for the hook punch. Based on the current effort, the currently designed headgear and gloves are effective in reducing the risk of injury.”
HEADGUARD DEBATE
Why did the International Federation (AIBA) remove the headguard from men boxers?
Beginning in 2013, AIBA made Olympic-style boxing more like professional boxing with key rule changes, including: remove men’s headguard, increase round length to 3 minutes, use professional-style scoring system, and tolerate fouls such as holding. AIBA also established professional boxing leagues for men boxers: World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB).
Have there been negative health effects since the removal of men's headguard?
-
Comparison of Injury Statistics: London (with headguard was 9%) and Rio (without headguard was 30%) Listed injuries in Rio include concussion, cuts, and broken jaw.
-
Rules: Cuts and advent of AIBA Cutman. Since removal of headguard for men, the increase in cuts and other injuries led AIBA to amended rules, including:
-
additional coach in corner for cutman responsibilities, Technical Rule 16
-
Winner on Points if bout stopped due to cut by clash of heads, Tech Rule 4
-
use of cut prevention material, Competition Rules, Appendix G
-
use of medications to stop bleeding from a cut, Technical Rule 16.2
-
failed medical exam from Med-DQ to Win by Walkover, Tech Rule 4.10
-
Cut Case study 2014 Commonwealth Games, Daniel Lewis and here
-
Concussion Case study 2017 Men’s World Championships, David Ayiti
Does removal of headguard make men's boxing more marketable and popular?
World Series of Boxing, the first AIBA professional boxing endeavor for men, operated from 2010-2018. WSB failed to gain traction in the world market. AIBA established AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) for men from 2014-2016. Neither venture proved to be profitable. AIBA offered entry into the Olympic Games for established professional male boxers, with three entering the Rio Olympic Games.
Doctors on record for headguard removal?
Charles Butler, M.D., retired cardiologist, former head of AIBA Medical Commission, current honorary AIBA Medical Commission member
Mike Loosemore, M.D., AIBA Medical Commission member
Doctors on record against headguard removal?
Robert Cantu, M.D., neurologist, author of Boxing and Medicine and Concussions and our Kids
Barry Jordan, M.D., neurologist specializing in sports neurology and traumatic brain injury
Edward Benzel, M.D., neurologist
Association of Ringside Physicians, position statement
“There are fewer head and facial injuries when using headgear in amateur boxing. Amateur boxing is a relatively safe sport, and eliminating headgear will make amateur boxing less safe. The ARP supports the continued use of headgear in amateur boxing, as well as efforts to improve the effectiveness of the headgear.”
Did the International Olympic Committee sponsor any studies on headguard?
Yes, the IOC sponsored research that was published in the summer of 2015 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Authors Macintosh & Patton concluded: “In totality, the data support the opinion that current AIBA headguards can play an important role in reducing the risk of concussion and superficial injury in boxing competition and training.”
Is there other published research on headguard safety?
Why wasn't headguard removed from women boxers?
From 2013-2022, AIBA Women's Commission refused to endorse a headguard ban on women athletes until such time that AIBA could prove that removing headguards did not increase injury to athletes. To date, AIBA has not provided sufficient evidence that a headguard ban is safe for athletes.
HEADGUARD HISTORY and CONTEXT
News Articles
​
​
​
HBO's Fight Game takes on the issue of head trauma, featuring an interview with Barry Jordan, M.D., neurologist specializing in sports neurology and traumatic brain injury.