What are the Best Boxing Gloves for Beginners?

What are the Best Boxing Gloves for Beginners? Boxing is not only the biggest combat sport in the world, with a rich history, but also a form of exercise that many people implement into their fitness regime. This means that budding fighters and people in need of an intense workout are taking an interest in boxing. And what’s the most important equipment for boxers? That would be boxing gloves!

However, finding the best boxing gloves for beginners can be tricky and a bit daunting, as there is such a wide range of gloves to choose from. Fortunately, we’re here to help and save you a bit of time. In this post, we’ll discuss the various types of boxing gloves and offer insight into which will best suit your needs.

What boxing glove size do I need?

This is an aspect of buying boxing gloves for the first time that can be particularly confusing, as there are so many sizes available. Sizes are determined by weight in ounces (oz.), which reflects the amount of padding inside the gloves — meaning that heavier gloves offer more protection but impact your punching speed.

You’ll find that the most common sizes are 10, 12, 14 and 16oz, as they offer a good balance of protection and agility. 10oz tend to be considered the ‘best’ for heavy bag work, while 14, 16, 18, and 20oz boxing gloves are the go-to for sparring. Heavier gloves for sparring help to prevent unnecessary injuries to your hands and your opponent. After all, it’s not a real fight, and lighter gloves increase your chances of doing damage.

While the glove weight you eventually settle on will depend on your body weight and what you use them for, it’s always good for beginners to start with heavier gloves then drop down as your skill and technique improve.

Your boxing gloves should have a snug, comfortable fit with your fingertips grazing the top of the gloves. Be sure to try on boxing gloves with hand wraps on. Boxing gloves should be snug around the straps but not tight, and it should be easy to make a fist.

Regarding how they feel when you put them on, your boxing gloves should be snug and comfortable, with your fingertips just touching the top of the gloves. You’ll also be wearing hand wraps, so keep this in mind. It’s vital for your gloves to be snug but not too tight. If it’s a struggle to make a fist or they feel uncomfortable, you need a bigger size.

Best boxing gloves for beginners

As we mentioned above, there are several types of boxing gloves designed for different purposes. Therefore the best boxing gloves for beginners depend on what your goals are. For some, bag work is an ideal addition to their workouts. Whereas others will incorporate sparring and more complex training. While professionals or advanced boxers will have multiple pairs of gloves to suit their varying needs, beginners tend to buy either bag gloves or ‘training’ gloves.

Bag gloves: As you can likely guess from the name, bag gloves are designed for bag work training. If you’re someone who uses a heavy bag at home or the gym but doesn’t intend to spar, they’ll suit your needs. Today’s bag gloves are very similar to training gloves but have more padding to protect your hands and wrists when hitting a heavy bag.

Training gloves: Training gloves are designed for sparring and training (pad/mitt work etc.) as they are less padded than bag gloves, allowing you to throw punches quicker (replicating the punch speed of a real fight). However, they also have plenty of padding to avoid injuries. If you plan to incorporate sparring or it’s something you intend to try, training gloves are a great option.

You’ll notice that boxing gloves are available with laces or velcro, and both have their pros and cons. And it really comes down to convenience a lot of the time. Lace-up gloves offer more in the way of support and a snugger fit. However, if you’re training alone, you won’t be able to or struggle to put gloves on yourself. 

Whereas velcro gloves naturally offer a little less support, but it means you can easily put on and take off your gloves, even if you’re training alone. For this reason, lace-up gloves tend to be used by more serious boxers who train with partners or at a boxing gym.

Are you new to the sport of boxing and are looking for the best boxing gloves for beginners? At Cleto Reyes UK, we stock a wide range of boxing gloves for professionals, amateurs, Thai boxers, MMA fighters, and kids! If you have any questions about our products or need a bit of advice on finding the perfect gloves for you, get in touch today!