Types Of Boxing Gloves Guide

For a beginner looking for new boxing gloves it can be difficult to determine what is the right type of glove for you. In this post I’ll break down the types of boxing gloves available and hopefully can give you a better idea of some options for you to choose from.

What types of boxing are there?

Boxing gloves can come in a whole host of different shapes, sizes and styles, but can mostly be divided into three main categories:

Boxing Gloves

The most typical glove you will find and see used are a pair of standard boxing gloves. But what makes them different to other gloves you may ask? Boxing is a sport that requires quick and heavy punches for a prolonged period which causes a lot of stress on your hands. Therefore, the knuckles and hands have more padding in these areas of the glove to give maximum protection.

Muay Thai Gloves

Muay Thai boxing gloves are more rounded at the top to add extra protection from kicks and usually the hands have more flexibility to move so you have the ability grab and clinch. The thumb can usually be in a slightly different position and is not attached to the main body of the glove.

Punch Bag Gloves

Bag Gloves are specifically designed for hitting the heavy or standing punch bags and have a lot less padding than your traditional gloves. Some people use these to help firm up there wrist and knuckle resistance due to the minimal padding.

Weight of boxing gloves

Gloves are usually sized by the weight of the glove which can typically range from 8oz to 16oz. The weight of the glove can determine on many factors* including the type of training you’re using them for – An example of this:

Light gloves (8oz to 12oz) are better for mitt work with your friend or coach. While heavier gloves (14oz – 18oz) are better for focusing on power using the heavy bag and sparring. Most bags are marked in some way to determine what glove size they are encase you forget.

A minimum of 16 oz gloves are usually the suggested size during sparring for protection for both you and your opponent.

Competition gloves on the other hand are a lot lighter and most will fight with 8oz -10oz gloves in professional fights.

Velcro vs Lace gloves

Boxing gloves generally only have two ways to protect your wrists and these can all come in all different shapes and forms depending on the gloves you get. These of course are Velcro or lace up.

Velcro (fastening)

This makes a lot quicker and easier to put on for training or if you’re training by yourself a home. (Recommended for beginners)

Lacing

Having gloves with lacing gives you a much more secure fit for your hands. They are especially good if you plan on competition fights or sparring.

Material – Leather or Vinyl/Synthetic

Boxing gloves are generally made from two different materials – Leather and Vinyl. You will see lots of variations of these materials and you just need to do you research before committing to buy.

Vinyl Gloves are often cheaper than leather and the quality can be poor, a plus side is they can be more durable and easier to clean. If you have a lower budget, these are definitely will be fine for the short term

Leather Gloves for me on the other hand are a far more superior product and you can get really feel the quality once you have you hands in them. If you want a glove for longevity, I’s recommend you get your hands on these.

Padding

Most boxing manufacturers use specialized foams or gels on the inside padding to help with the impact of your punches in the various boxing training (e.g. heavy bag, mitts, sparring). The padding on most gloves usually feels fine, but you don’t want it to think if you are going to be doing bag work.

Additional Features

Boxing gloves also tend to come in a whole variety of different features which can make them more unique than your standard boxing gloves. These can include

Grip Bar

Some gloves will have a lightweight grip bar which is found between the fingers and palm of the glove. This is literally meant to help give you better grip for your first when punching. A lot of gloves do have this feature built into them, but some can be more obvious than others.

Mesh for breathability

The material built into some gloves can have mesh like material which can help give your more air. This is to reduce sweat and moisture from being trapped inside. This isn’t as common and I’d recommend checking out my article on 6 helpful ways to look after you boxing gloves here.

Attached Thumb

You will notice on most ‘Boxing Gloves’ that the thumb is attached to the main body of the glove or front padding. This feature is to help stop accidental injuries in your training or when sparring. Muay Thai gloves on the other hand do not have attached thumb to help give more movement. (Personally I think it doesn’t make much difference, but would usually go for an attached glove version.

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Hopefully this guide will help have helped give you a slightly better background for what to look for in boxing gloves. If you are complete beginner to boxing I highly recommend you check out beginner boxing glove choices here.

You can also check out my top brand boxing gloves review lists in the following links below:

Top 5 RDX Boxing Gloves

Top 6 Rival Boxing Gloves

Top 5 Everlast Boxing Gloves

If you are in fact looking for Maui Thai gloves – I recommend you check out Fairtex or Twins gloves. Click on the link logos below learn more on Amazon.

Fairtex Mauy Thai Boxing Gloves

Twins Special Mauy Thai Gloves

Let us know in the comments below if you have anymore questions regarding features on boxing gloves.

You can also check out my best boxing glove options for beginners here for more options.

Thanks for reading.

Jamie - Boxing Life

I'm a boxing analyst, amateur boxer, and blogger looking to pass on my boxing experiences and passion to anyone looking to learn or find out more about the sport of boxing. Whether that be gear reviews, fighter analysis, news, training tips, or my own personal journey, I'll be covering it on 'Boxing Life'.

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