Objectives: To synthesise competition and training injury data in amateur boxing. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled estimates of competition injury incidence rates per 1000 athlete-exposures (IIRAE) and per 1000 min of exposure (IIRME), and training injury incidence rates per 1000 h of exposure (IIRHE) were obtained by fitting random-effects models. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, AUSPORT, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched from inception to 27 May 2022. Cohort studies with prospectively collected injury and exposure data from amateur boxing competition or training published in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion. Results Seventeen studies were eligible for inclusion. The competition IIRAE and IIRME summary estimates were 54.7 (95% CI 33.8-88.4) and 6.8 (95% CI 4.2-10.9), respectively. The training IIRHE summary estimate was 1.3 (95% CI 0.2-7.0). The most commonly injured body regions in the competition and training settings were the head and neck (median: 72%; range: 46% to 100%) and upper limb (median: 49%; range: 40% to 53%), respectively. The predominant types of injury were contusions (median: 35%; range: 5% to 100%) and lacerations and abrasions (median: 20%; range: 0% to 69%) in the competition setting, and sprains and strains (median: 60%; range: 50% to 81%) in the training setting. Conclusions Amateur boxing athletes sustain, on average, 1 injury every 2.5 h of competition and every 772 h of training. There is a need for identifying injury mechanisms and modifiable risk factors that can be targeted by preventive measures to reduce the burden of injury in amateur boxing.
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