Introduction Boxing is a complex and intense sport which may result in numerous injuries to the participants. Women hav e only recently started to participate within this activity, and the prevalence of their injury rates is unknown. The researc h m ay serve to enhance the epidemiology of boxing injuries, from a comparative perspective in an attempt to reduce injuries for all participants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the injury rates to various parts of t h e boxers anatomy. Methods A group of 171 male boxers from six national boxing teams and 30 female boxers from Shenyang Sport Unive rsity were recruited for this study. Injury characteris tics of the athletes were recorded by means of observational analysis and a literature review. Results A ma jor finding from this study was that female boxers have a three fold higher rate of injury comp ared to the ma le boxers. Conclusions The findings indicate that female boxers have a consistently higher rate of injury compared to their male counterparts. These results indicat e that lower training levels of intensity, age and varying levels of experience, are contributing factors to injuries. A review of the literature revealed that previous research has not adopted a consistent methodology for reporting injuries within boxing. Establishing a standard diagnostic criteria for boxing in juries can provide a framework for providing useful information for coaches, athletes, and rehabilitation professionals.
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