The reason why only women wear headguards in Olympic boxing

The headguard is a hallmark of Olympic boxing

For years the headguard in Olympic boxing was an iconic symbol synonymous with Olympic and amateur boxing.

However, the most eagle-eyed fans out there will have noticed something peculiar about the boxing event at Paris 2024 concerning the famous headguard.

Up until the 2016 Olympics in Rio both men and women had to wear headguards after they were first introduced by the AIBA in 1984.

This inclusion came as a result of many brutal fights notably that of pro South Korean fighter Kim Duk-Koo who died in 1982 after a world championship bout with Ray Mancini.

Although not the most aesthetically pleasing addition, the guards helped prevent lacerations and other surface wounds.

Over the next few decades the headguard became iconic as a part of amateur and Olympic boxing, although many boxers in Paris will be professionals.

In 2013, the AIBA removed the guards for amateur male boxers in international tournaments concluding that they were not proving effective enough in preventing concussions and other brain injuries.

The two main issues concerned the fact that the headguard created a larger target for boxers to hit, leading to more head blows while the other was giving the boxers a false sense of security, seeing the guard as a means of protection rather than a preventative measure.

Multiple studies unearthed that the number of acute brain injuries declined without headguards while world championship tournament bouts between 2009 and 2013 saw a 43% reduction in the number of times a fight was stopped because of one boxer receiving repeated head blows in fights without headguards.

After seeing the results, the International Olympic Committee decided that for the 2016 Rio games male boxers would not have to wear headguards.

However, because the study was conducted only on men, headguard still has to be worn in the women’s competition.

With no data available yet to prove the removal of the headguard could benefit the women, head protection has been retained for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The decision did not please everyone in the medical community, however.

Dr Robery Cantu, who has worked with the issues of concussions in the NFL and is also a memebr of the Association of Ringside Physicians, an organisation against the removal of headguards for amateurs, claiming the gear was not designed to prevent concussions.

“The idea that headgear prevents concussions is ludicrous to begin with,” he said. “It would be great if it did, but to say that taking it off will lead to fewer concussions doesn’t make sense, either.

The study commissioned by the AIBA that showed a decline in the number of concussions was too small, and a larger study undertaken by doctors unaffiliated with the AIBA is needed.”

After the removal of the headguards, an increase in surface cuts and broken noses, but despite the continuation of protests for the reinstatement of headgear, the committees that be continue to stand by their decision eleven-years ago to remove the famous head protection.