Choosing The Right Boxing Gloves Size: Your Ultimate Guide

Blog / Apr 05,2024

Boxing gloves serve as padded protection for fighters' hands during matches and practices, contrasting with ancient cestus designed as weapons. While aimed at safeguarding hands, modern boxing gloves also enable more forceful head punches, heightening the risk of brain injury. Various specialized gloves are used for competitions, sparring, and training. These gloves typically feature either lace-ups or velcro closures. Velcro gloves function akin to an additional hand wrap, enhancing wrist stability. In contrast, lace-up gloves offer a snugger fit but require assistance for lacing and are usually taped pre-match. They can be converted to velcro gloves using a hook-and-loop converter.

Boxing gloves commonly employ horsehair padding, foam padding, or a combination of both. Foam padding gloves utilize latex and PVC foam for shock absorption, while horsehair gloves, though more durable and eco-friendly, offer less protection. In amateur boxing, glove colors are limited to red or blue, often with a white "scoring area" at the knuckles for judges to better observe and record points from valid punches.

Heavy Bag Training is a Staple

Moving to heavy bag training, it stands as a staple in the routines of many professionals, offering a multitude of benefits. This stuffed bag, typically made of leather or vinyl and weighing between 40 and 100 pounds, is utilized primarily by boxers to enhance punching power and refine technique. Hitting the heavy bag demands physical exertion and tests one's strength and endurance. Despite its simplicity, it yields a plethora of advantages, from comprehensive workouts to honed self-defense skills and sculpted muscles. Boxers typically strike the bag with fists, though elbows, kicks, and knees can also be incorporated, allowing for diverse punching combinations and rhythmic variations.

Varieties of Punching Bags

Punching bags come in diverse types, each distinguished by its size, intended use, and method of mounting. Typically, these bags are encased in either leather or synthetic materials like vinyl, which provide resistance against abrasion and mildew. In cases of lower usage and humidity, canvas may also serve as a suitable bag material.

Guide to Boxing Hand Wraps Sizing

Hand wraps are essential accessories worn beneath boxing gloves, offering crucial support to the fist area, guarding against injuries such as the boxers fracture of the fifth metacarpal. These wraps, typically crafted from cotton, are available in lengths of 3.5 meters or 4.2 meters. Our collection features stylish hand wraps in a variety of colors, made from stretchy materials highly favored by fighters.

Optimal Selection of Bag Boxing Gloves

Bag boxing gloves are distinct from professional boxing gloves, being slightly larger and more heavily padded. This added padding aims to shield your hands during training, as the target of your strikes doesn't need to endure the full impact of each punch. However, bag gloves are smaller in comparison to sparring gloves, as sparring gloves prioritize safeguarding both your hands and your sparring partner.

Choosing the Right Size for Professional Boxing Gloves

Professional boxing gloves are notably lighter than bag boxing gloves or sparring gloves, featuring a thinner layer of padding to ensure that your opponent experiences the full force of your punches. Typically, professional boxing gloves are available in 8oz or 10oz sizes for both men and women, with heavyweight fighters with larger hands opting for 10oz XL gloves for a more comfortable fit.

Top Picks for Training Boxing Gloves

Sparring gloves are generally heavier than bag gloves and professional boxing gloves, as the aim during sparring is not to inflict harm on your partner. The additional padding also serves to shield your own hands from contact with bones, a concern absent when training with a punching bag.

Selecting Boxing Gloves for Women & Teenage Boxers

With accurate hand measurements, most boxing gloves can be considered unisex without causing discomfort. Nonetheless, many brands offer a dedicated line of women's boxing gloves, typically featuring a narrower fit more suitable for the majority of female athletes. Teenage boxing gloves are commonly found within the junior boxing gloves range. However, obtaining precise hand, height, and weight measurements is advisable to determine the most suitable gloves for young boxers. Additionally, Geezers Boxing provides junior boxing gloves tailored for much younger children, including 4oz and 6oz options suitable for children as young as four.

For novices entering the realm of boxing, the choice of gloves hinges on their intended use. Those primarily engaging in training may find lighter punching bag gloves more suitable initially. Conversely, individuals keen on early sparring involvement may opt for thicker boxing gloves designed for comprehensive usage. Beginning with a more economical glove option, such as those made from PU leathera durable yet cost-effective alternative to genuine leathermight also be prudent before investing in higher-end gear.

What Size Gloves for MMA?

The distinction between boxing gloves and MMA gloves lies in the design: MMA gloves are open-fingered and feature a thinner padding layer, typically ranging from 4oz to 6oz. This design accommodates the need for MMA fighters to utilize their fingers for grappling maneuvers, a capability not required in traditional boxing.

Significance of Boxing Glove Size

Selecting properly fitting boxing gloves is paramount for hand protection and optimal performance. Gloves that are excessively tight can force bones and muscles into unnatural positions, potentially resulting in hand injuries when subjected to repetitive punching. Conversely, oversized gloves permit excessive hand movement, compromising punch accuracy and potentially leading to wrist strain over time.

In addition to considering weight class, determining glove size can often benefit from measuring hand circumference, particularly if one possesses larger hands relative to their weight or size. To measure hand circumference accurately, use a flexible fabric tape measure, wrapping it just below the knuckles of the open hand with the tape meeting at the center of the palm. If a fabric tape measure isn't available, a piece of string can be used similarly, with the marked length compared against a ruler or stiffer tape measure.

Conclusion

Contrary to common belief, the weight of boxing gloves does not directly correlate with punching force. The weight primarily reflects the padding density rather than the overall mass. Hence, sparring gloves, featuring denser padding, tend to be heavier, while professional competition gloves, designed for agility, are notably lighter. In addition to selecting appropriate gloves, wrapping the hands before fighting or training is advisable. Hand wrapping ensures proper hand positioning, preventing strenuous movements and offering additional support to bones and muscles within the gloves.