Diferenças técnico-táticas entre categorias de peso e sexo no boxe em nível continental (pré-olímpico) e olímpico (Paris 2024 e Chile 2023)

Abstract

This study aimed to map the technical-tactical differences in boxing between continental-level (Santiago 2023 Pan American Games) and Olympic-level (Paris 2024 Olympic Games) competitions, considering sex, weight categories, and competition phases. The growing scientific interest in boxing highlights the importance of investigating combat strategies across different competitive levels. This descriptive-comparative study was based on video-derived technical-tactical analyses. A total of 255 bouts were analyzed, including 193 Olympic and 62 Pan American bouts. Frami® software was used to quantify and classify movement, offensive, defensive, clinch, and pause actions. Weight categories were grouped into Lightweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight. Statistical analyses included two-way and three-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey's post hoc test, adopting a significance level of p < 0.05. The results revealed significant technical-tactical differences between competitive levels. Olympic boxers showed greater movement time (p ≤ 0.001), whereas Pan American bouts exhibited a progressive increase in clinch time throughout the competition (p ≤ 0.001). No significant differences were found between winners and losers within the same competition (p > 0.05), suggesting that success at the elite level depends more on qualitative performance indicators than on the volume of technical-tactical actions. Weight category also influenced technical-tactical behavior, with Heavyweight athletes displaying a significantly greater volume of defensive actions (p ≤ 0.001). Regarding sex, male boxers performed more movement and defensive actions, whereas female boxers exhibited a higher overall offensive volume. It is concluded that lower-level athletes tend to adopt less dynamic strategies, such as clinching, while Olympic competitors demonstrate greater mobility and lower performance variability. Furthermore, the higher offensive output observed among female athletes was not associated with victory. These findings suggest that coaches should prioritize the development of cardiorespiratory fitness, movement efficiency, and combat pace control. Future studies are recommended to further investigate these performance indicators and contribute to the standardization of technical-tactical analysis protocols in boxing.