Packing the right gear in your gym bag is the first step toward packing a punch in the gym. Quality gloves help boxers keep their hands comfortable and protected while training. Boxing gloves, like other protective gear, function best when they’re appropriately sized and when we talk size in terms of gloves, we mean the weight of the gloves.
Boxing gloves come in a variety of designs and sizes from general trainers for pad and bag work to ones designed specifically for competition and sparring gloves, designed for, you guessed it, sparring. Here’s how to choose the best sparring gloves.
Table of Contents
What Are The Types Of Boxing Gloves?
Not all gloves are built equal: each type of boxing glove out there is designed for a specific type of fighter, and with an intended function. Let’s look at how to distinguish one from the other:
Bag Gloves
Quite literally, bag gloves are made to be used when training on a heavy bag or speed bag. Bag gloves feature less padding than competition or training gloves, which allows the fighter to better understand the impact each punch has. It’s the best glove to feel out each strike and help improve form.
Training Gloves
The humble training glove is a jack of all trades: it’s the boxing glove most fighters start out with due to its focus on protection as well as its versatility. Training gloves are more padded than bag gloves but not too heavily so, making them work for both punching bag training and sparring as well.
Sparring Gloves
The most padded of the lot, sparring gloves are big on protection and so are usually used only for sparring. They take into account not only the safety of the fighter but also of the opponent, dulling the constant impact that sparring causes. This helps sparring sessions last longer and serves as a protective mechanism to avoid injury so that both fighters stay in the game.
How Much Should a SPARRING GLOVE Weigh?
While most boxers, trainers, and those associated with the sport of boxing say that a pair of 16oz gloves is essential for sparring, this may not be appropriate for a smaller or lighter pupil. A 16oz glove on a 120kg pupil and a 55kg pupil, for instance, would put the lighter student at a considerable disadvantage because the smaller pupil is carrying a far larger load than the 120kg student.
To reduce the danger of injury, the weight of your sparring gloves should be appropriate to your weight and frame, putting the same amount of strain on the body.
It’s also worth noting that one’s expertise and other physical characteristics, including the power, strength, and control, might influence the weight of a sparring glove.
Here’s a basic rundown of body weights and recommended sparring glove weights:
Less than 60kg = 10oz – 12oz
60 to 70kg = 14oz – 16oz
70 to 85kg = 16oz
85kg + = 16oz – 18oz or more
Please keep in mind that the following is only a suggestion and not a rule; there are still other aspects to consider, such as the boxer’s experience, the sort of padding used, and so on.
How To Choose The Right Sparring Glove
To summarise, when picking a sparring glove, this is what you have to take into account:
- Take stock of the weight: As discussed above, the weight of the boxing glove corresponds to the weight of the fighter using it. Pick the right weight in order to keep both you and your opponent protected.
- Pick the right material: While leather is the most durable material for gloves across the board, a lot of leather alternatives which are friendly for those who want to avoid animal products also exist. These are a cheaper option and are often easier to look after than genuine leather.
- Make sure to measure: Measure your hand at the widest point of your palm to ascertain what the right size of glove would be for you. Fit is vital for a sparring glove: making sure you have the right measurements especially when ordering online.
- Check the specs: Your coach or association may have certain specifications for sparring gloves, as is often the case with competition gloves as well. It’s best to find these out and check that the sparring gloves you’re ordering make the cut.
- Get some closure: With sparring gloves, the classic go-to is a lace-up closure. This gives added wrist protection and a better fit, and so is the recommended option in this case rather than the more common and popular velcro fastening.