Scattered boxes close to home (6)
I believe the answer is:
sparse
'scattered' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'boxes close to home' is the wordplay.
'boxes' becomes 'spars' (sparring is a kind of boxing).
'close to' suggests the final letters (the 'close' to the word).
The last letter of 'home' is 'e'.
'spars'+'e'='SPARSE'
(Other definitions for sparse that I've seen before include "Meagre, thin on the ground" , "Infrequent" , "One's not at all thick" , "Thinly dispersed" , "In short supply" .)