Assessment of reliability and validity of specific agility test indicators for amateur boxing

Based on boxing’s unique traits and recent rule changes ( e.g ., the 2013 10-point system, removal of male headgear, and 2017 adjustments to women’s rounds), which heighten agility demands, we developed the Boxing-Specific Agility Test (BSAT). To examine BSAT’s reliability, validity, sensitivity, and its relationship with planned agility, sprinting, jumping, and eye-hand coordination, 26 elite male boxers (16 Chinese, 10 Cuban, including five world-class) were recruited. The mean age and training experience of the participants were equal to 22 ± 3.31 years old and 11.54 ± 2.34 years, respectively. In addition to the BSAT, participants underwent planned agility tests (T-test and Y pre-planned agility, YPA), reactive agility test (Y reactive agility, YRA), perceptual decision-making assessment (Decision-making time, DMT), jumping tests (Counter movement jump, CMJ and Squat-Jump SJ), sprint tests (6 and 10 m), and a eye-hand coordination (EHC) test. To determine the discriminant validity of the BSAT, participants were divided into two groups based on their performance in international and domestic competitions: the Top Elite Group ( n = 12) and the General Elite Group ( n = 14). The retest results collected at 7-day intervals demonstrated that the BSAT exhibits high reliability, validity, and sensitivity (ICC = 0.966, p < 0.001). It accurately evaluates the specialized agility qualities of boxers and can detect small yet meaningful changes in performance. Top elite athletes demonstrated significantly better BSAT performance than the general elite group, evidenced by shorter total time (30.85 ± 3.52 s vs . 37.97 ± 3.39 s; p < 0.001) and faster average response time (1.5 ± 0.23 s vs . 1.98 ± 0.23 s; p < 0.001). The test’s discriminative power was robust, with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.93 (95% CI [0.84–0.99]; p < 0.001). BSAT scores strongly correlated with both the planned agility T-test (r = 0.76–0.77, p < 0.001) and the reactive Y-test (r = 0.77, p < 0.001), and showed moderate to high correlations with other physical traits like sprinting (r = 0.49–0.50, p < 0.05), jumping (r = 0.53–0.65, p < 0.01), and eye-hand coordination (r = 0.70–0.72, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the BSAT is a reliable and valid tool for assessing boxing-specific agility. Additionally, the BSAT can serve as a practical tool for coaches to preliminarily assess boxers’ sprinting ability, lower-body power, and eye-hand coordination. The test also allows for real-time observation of sport-specific movements, helping to identify technical weaknesses.