The history of competitive balance in Commonwealth Games Boxing

Abstract

This study analyses the state of competitive balance over the history of boxing in the Commonwealth Games (CWG). Comparisons are drawn with Olympic Boxing (AOB), popular American team sports and English Premier League Football. The statistical themes emerging from the study are as follows: (1) A general trend of greater competitive balance from the 1930s through 1970s, an abnormal reduction in competitive balance in the 1980s (due in large part to widespread boycotts of the 1986 Games in Edinburgh) and a steady deterioration of competitive balance since the 1990s; (2) greater competitive balance in CWG Boxing vis-à-vis English Premier League Football and the National Basketball Association; and (3) No statistically significant difference in competitive balance over the history of AOB (1904–2012) when compared with CWG Boxing (1930–2014).