Boxing Glove Guide

www.GlovesAndHandWraps.com

How do I pick the right size? Aren’t size and weight the same thing? Glove size and glove weight are NOT the same thing.  In many cases the sizing DOES correspond with the weight of the glove, however this is not always true. The weight of the glove is important for a variety of reasons.  You will pick the WEIGHT of the glove depending on your chosen method of use.  You will often choose SIZE depending on the best fit of the glove. The most common sizes for gloves run small, medium and large.  The most common sizes for gloves are: 8 oz – common for competitive boxers 10 oz – common for competitive boxers 12 oz – common for women and people with small hands for training 14 oz – common for average size people for training. 16 oz – common for people of all sizes for training. 18 oz – commonly used for larger weight classes for training 20 oz – commonly used for larger weight classes for training Is it therefore possible to have for example: 12 oz gloves in small, medium, and large?   The answer is yes, but not in all cases.  It will depend on the manufacturer of the glove. It is common for you to see this: Small – 12 oz Medium – 14 oz Large – 16 oz Professional boxers that fight in the ring always 8oz. or 10 oz. gloves.  But since there are so many different sizes of fighters and so many different weight classes these fighters will need different sizes of gloves. In this example you can have a 10 oz. glove in size small AND you can have 10 oz gloves in size medium, large, and XL. Common sense would indicate that as the glove gets bigger the weight increases.  In many cases this is true.  However, in professional fight gloves the gloves are manufactured to have the same weight regardless of the size. When choosing glove size you want the gloves to have a snug fit. If there is too much room inside for your hand to move around, there is potential for injury. Two important things to note when choosing glove size: 1)        The gloves will stretch – like a good pair of shoes. The more you use them, the more they will stretch to fit your hand.  So the best gloves for you will probably not fit perfectly when they are brand new.  You might want to consider buying them to be a little tighter fitting than you think.   2)        Make sure there is room for hand wraps.  Do NOT buy gloves without wrapping your hands and trying them on.  It is very important for you to wear hand wraps and you do not want to get your new gloves and realize after the fact that they won’t fit while you are wearing your hand wraps. For more info on picking out hand wraps, visit the Hand Wrap Guide. IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT GLOVE WEIGHT: You will find that some gloves are more popular than others.  But just because a glove is more popular for a boxer does not mean the glove is best for you. Some gloves are weighted at the front end of the glove and some are weighted at the back end near the wrist. A boxer will want a glove weighted on the back so that there is less padding in the knuckle area.  This is desired to have a greater impact on his/her opponent.  But this may NOT be the best thing for you.  When you train you should consider a glove that is weighted in the front.  This usually means there is more padding, and therefore, more protection for your hand. You may have heard the term: “a punchers glove.”  This is usually for gloves that are weighted in the wrist area and they may not be the best gloves for training, cardio boxing, or sparring.