Temporal dissociation between endocrine and psychological responses across an official boxing bout in national-level male boxers

While cortisol and testosterone track rapid physiological adaptations to competition, psychological states like anxiety and anger are driven by cognitive appraisal and context. This study examined concurrent neuroendocrine and emotional responses in boxing to determine whether hormonal shifts mirror athletes’ subjective stress. Twenty national-level male boxers (age: 19.5 ± 1.4 years, range: 18–21 years; sports experience: 8.5 ± 1.8 years) competing in an official national tournament were assessed using a repeated-measures design. Salivary cortisol and testosterone (sCor and sTes) were collected at three standardized time points (pre-, mid-, and post-competition), whereas competitive anxiety (cognitive, somatic, and self-confidence) and state anger were evaluated immediately before and after each bout using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. sTes increased significantly during mid-competition, whereas sCor peaked post-competition (both p < .001, ηp² = 0.96). Cognitive and somatic anxiety increased significantly from pre- to post-competition (both p < .001, large effect sizes [dz = 3.54 and 1.07, respectively]), whereas self-confidence and state anger remained unchanged (both p > .05). No significant associations were found between hormonal reactivity and changes in anxiety or anger (all p > .05). Hormonal and psychological responses to competition followed distinct temporal patterns, with no evidence that acute endocrine changes directly reflected athletes’ subjective emotional responses. These findings suggest that physiological biomarkers and self-reported psychological measures provide complementary rather than interchangeable information about competitive stress. Accordingly, athlete monitoring in combat sports may benefit from integrating both physiological and psychological assessments. This study extends current knowledge by concurrently characterizing endocrine and psychological responses during official boxing competition.