Best Boxing Gloves for Beginners

Ever heard of the boxer’s fraction condition? It’s the number one hand injury for boxers that occurs, not to mention wrist injuries, etc.

Here are some stats for starters: a boxer’s fracture makes up 20% of all hand fractures globally.

The fracture will typically heal within 3 to 4 weeks! And although the recovery rates are high, your knuckles will stay deformed…

You might be wondering why we are even talking about this and what does this have to do with boxing gloves? The reality is that training with the wrong boxing gloves could hurt your opponent and hurt your hand. So it goes without saying that you need to invest in a good first pair of boxing gloves.

You could hurt your training partners; if your gloves have a very soft padding, your knuckles will still absorb much of the impact. Your partner will also absorb the punch, which could cause him to get concussed. Without further due, let’s get into our top picks of the best boxing gloves for beginners t ensure you get the right protection.

Top Picks of the Best Boxing Gloves for Beginners

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– Best Quality

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The Ring Side Gloves are made of a molded protective foam (MPF) which provides extra padding that helps protect the wrist and hand upon impact.

What’s so different as opposed to the traditional layered foam padding? This foam padding is pre-curved and molded to fit your palm. The curve puts your hand in a better position punch with the right knuckles. It allows you to clench your fist with ease upon impact. This ensures your wrist is firm when the punches land. The last thing you want is your palm to bend as the punch lands. It also comes with an attached thumb pocket for extra protection. Safety is always number one when looking for boxing gloves for beginners, and it starts with your hands. In terms of safety and good quality boxing gloves for beginners, Ringside Pro-Style gloves are certainly among the best in the market.

How many times have you made your partner/coach wait while trying to pull the velcro wrist strap around your hands? Well, no need to struggle for that anymore. This pair comes with a full wrap around a hook and loop segment which makes them nice and snug on your hand. Even though it is not real leather, Ring Side really came through with high-quality stitching.

They also have ventilation holes so that your hands don’t smell like a corpse after taking the gloves off.

The Ring Side gloves are great for sparring as well. They’re made of smooth synthetic leather, which allows for easy cleaning and durable usage. There is no need to pull back on any punches; fear not the blood, sweat, and tears here. That’s why they made it on our top picks for the best boxing gloves for beginners.

Pros:

  • Comfortable usage
  • Durable boxing gloves for beginners
  • Easy to clean
  • Come in a variety of colors
  • Thick foam (1 1/2 inch)
  • Good protection
  • Mesh palm and fingers

Cons:

  • Does not offer smaller sizing of individuals with extra small palms
  • Needs some time to get used to it

– Best Value

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Everlast has been one of the oldest, if not the oldest, brand to sponsor boxing. Their first breakthrough was with the famous Muhammad Ali gloves. They have produced some of the most elite boxing gloves for beginners out there.

The Everlast Pro Style boxing gloves are made of high-quality mold foam that ensures protection and comfort. They come in three different sizes: 12 oz., 14 oz. and 16 oz. Usually, 14 oz and above is the recommendation for sparring, whereas 12 oz and lower are for mitts and heavy bag work.

You could never go wrong with a pair of Everlast boxing gloves. One thing to keep in mind that the heavier the gloves, the thicker the padding. So if you’re looking for sparing gloves, the 14 oz and 16 oz should be your go-to gloves. If you don’t mind investing a little bit, the Everlast boxing gloves are a great choice if you want durable quality.

Pros:

  • Comfortable
  • Very Durable
  • Best boxing gloves for beginners in boxing
  • Easy to clean
  • Great bag gloves

Cons:

  • No hook and loop closure system
  • Slightly Expensive

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The Venum Challenger 2.0 boxing gloves for beginners are a step up in comparison to its predecessor. The strap has more length, which allows for a tighter wrap around the wrist. The brand was mostly working with muay thai athletes, but then they expanded to boxing training gloves. The Venum Challenger 2.0 also has a breathable interior mesh as well as ventilation holes. This is always a plus when doing high-intensity work on the bag or mitt work since your palms don’t sweat as much.

The designs offered by Venum make by far the most stylish. When you’re comfortable in your own gloves, it’s the same as being comfortable in your own skin: feeling good inspires confidence, and confidence inspires good performance. Since they offer multiple colors and designs, you can feel free to style gloves to your own liking.

If you don’t believe me, look up Floyd Mayweather or Conor McGregor, the trash talk and shinny equipment are part of the art of war. Fighting is 70% mental warfare even in the ring; ask any muay thai fighter or boxer.

Pros:

  • Great Fabric
  • Comes in 13 different colors
  • Good Designs
  • Breathable mesh
  • Available in 5 sizes (8 oz. to 16 oz.)

Cons:

  • Slightly expensive
  • No hook and loop closure system

– Best Boxing Gloves for Wrist Protection

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The Hayabusa gloves offer a single strap closure which puts your wrists in a good position to punch. The essential gel that’s in the density foam covers their boxing gloves for reinforced protection.

They also have a splinted forearm support built in them to improve safety and hand positioning when punching. The fingers can sit in the pocket of the boxing gloves, and the thumb stays put in a separate pocket to protect it.

And it doesn’t stop there: the inside of the boxing gloves is furnished with a very smooth lining which provides comfort when training. On the surface, the boxing gloves are covered with nylon lining and a mesh palm that make them durable during high-intensity sessions, making them ideal for the best boxing experience.

A lot of times, movements and misalignment of the forearm within the boxing gloves cause injuries. These are great boxing gloves for beginners, giving you more safety and freedom throughout the early learning phases of boxing. They’re great for sparring as well as heavy bag work.

Pros:

  • Tight velcro strap
  • Injected molded foam
  • Comfort
  • Available in 6 different colors

Cons:

  • Slightly expensive
  • Synthetic leather

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RDX is stepping up with Maya Hide High-Tech, which helps hand conformity to athletes with varying thickness and forearm width. If you have trouble finding the right size of gloves for your palms, then RDX is perfect for you.

The gloves feature LOMA technology which allows them to take the shape of your hand over time. This is one of the main things that make it durable. Sometimes the gloves are the right size on paper, but they’re either tight or baggy when you actually wear them. RDX is definitely on top of their game when it comes to best gloves sizing.

The RDX glove foam is spread all over the gloves to allow optimal shock distribution on more surface areas when the punches make contact.

One of the most important components of the boxing technique is clenching your fist when you punch. Unfortunately, many gloves have bad fist formation and don’t allow for proper clenching, which could hurt your hands. RDX brilliantly included a condensed foam bar in the upper palm of the glove to better gripping and clenching. This is very important to develop the best boxing technique early on.

In short, if you’re looking for durable training gloves with good sizing, RDX will certainly not disappoint.

Pros:

  • Hook and Loop closure
  • Sweatproof mesh
  • Good for fist formation
  • Good hand-glove size conformity

Cons:

  • Not the best aesthetic design

– Most Durable Boxing Gloves

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The Fairtex boxing gloves are one of the few on our list that is made of leather. It comes as no surprise that the price might go up. But if you’ve got the bucks, it’s worth it. Here’s why: they’re the most durable gloves out there; they combat (pun intended) sweat, odors, and moisture. Real leather is also breathable for the hand compared to most synthetic leather gloves on the market. Professional boxers mostly use leather boxing gloves, but you don’t have to be one to get them.

Pros:

  • Offers 45 different designs
  • Genuine leather
  • All-purpose boxing glove
  • Tight fit design

Cons:

  • High Price

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If you looked up boxing gyms on google, chances are the Title Boxing closest to you popped up. Title training gloves provide a true-to-the-sport experience. With that being said, they have decent boxing equipment to look out for when you’re looking for the best boxing gloves for beginners.

A pair of Title gloves sure could come in handy since the company is founded for recreational boxing. The brand design also is a plus; they’re kind of the “Blockbuster” of boxing; they would be cool to own for sentimental value even if you don’t use them frequently.

Pros:

  • Designed boxing gloves for beginners
  • Good design
  • triple density foam padding

Cons:

  • No hook and loop closure system

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These gloves are usually used for muay thai, but they’re suitable for boxing. They’re not very comfortable for sparring, though, but they’re good for heavy bag work. The foam protection is a bit too hard for sparring but very durable when hitting the heavy bag. The only issue is they’re pricy in comparison to what they offer.

The Twins Special Boxing Gloves have only the perk of being made out of leather, but it wasn’t our top choice because they don’t offer much as opposed to the competition.

Pros:

  • 25 different designs
  • Hook and loop closure
  • Good wrist support
  • Genuine leather

Cons:

  • Might not have a good knuckle shape
  • Slightly Overpriced

Hand Wraps for Boxing Gloves

Hand wraps for forearm support are crucial for protection. I’ve seen guys sparring not wearing wraps under their gloves, and they strain or break their forearm bones. A pair of gloves is not enough; you need to get a pair of hand wraps. We picked our top 3 boxing hand wraps so that you don’t have to waste energy looking for them.

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These are not your traditional hand wraps, but they are great if you want to save time in the gym. Wrapping your hands can sometimes be a tedious task when you’re in a rush to put on your boxing gloves.

The Ringside gel-infused foam hand wraps make it comfortable and quick to wear put on in your boxing session. The extra gel-infused foam provides even better protection than the traditional hand wraps because of the padding.

The fabric of the ringside hand wraps is made up of a blend of polyester with a moisture-wicking liner that helps keep your hands dry.

Pros:

  • Saves time
  • Comfortable
  • Durable
  • Compatible with any training gloves

Cons:

  • Lack of forearm protection

for Better Wrist Protection

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The Venum wraps are a great addition if you’re planning to get the Venum challenger 2.0 boxing gloves: They fit in the gloves comfortably and are made of elastic fabric to accommodate your hands. You could never go wrong with a pair of boxing gloves and hand wraps from Venum.

Pros:

  • Great for knuckle protection
  • Comfortable wrist strap
  • Elastic fabric for a comfortable fit for boxing gloves

Cons:

  • No triple density foam

Boxing Gloves – 2021 Buyer’s Guide

A good pair of boxing training gloves could be tricky to find, especially when there are so many of them in the market. Many questions pop up when you start looking for a pair: does it have to be genuine leather? What are essential gel boxing gloves? What are the best boxing gloves for beginners? etc.

In the following guide, we give you an idea of what to look for in your first pair of gloves for the best boxing experience.

Fabric 

Many boxing gloves are made with multiple layers of foam. These products often use inferior materials that aren’t good for shock absorption and wear out faster.

You want to look for high-density foam, which allows for better punching mechanics and palm safety. It’s also called a gel-infused foam that takes the shape of your hand. This type of padding is found in the best boxing gloves for beginners, which we mentioned above.

Protection

It’s essential to find the best gloves that offer knuckle and wrist safety. When you throw a punch, the knuckle and hands could get injured pretty easily. The best boxing gloves for protection are the ones with proper padding.

The padding has to be hard enough to protect your hand and soft enough to protect your partner from the shock absorption of punches. This is especially important for beginners when they go into sparring. A lot of beginners do not have the experience to pull back on their punches. They usually can’t gauge the right intensity, so their gloves must have proper padding to avoid injuries with a hard impact.

A normal boxing glove should not be too loose or too tight: if it’s too tight, there’s less blood circulation to your hand. This could cause your hand to go numb and be uncomfortable to deal with. On the other hand, if it’s too loose, your hand might move and misalign when landing, which could hurt it. Usually, hook and loop closure gloves are the best when compared to velcro strap gloves.

Size and Weight

The glove size is a recurrent dilemma for beginners since the sizing charts aren’t always clear. Sometimes it’s classified by hand circumference; other times, it’s classified by weight. If you follow the size chart we provide below, it will give you a good estimate of your size.

Usually, the 16 oz or even the 18 oz is the standard boxing gloves for sparring since they usually have triple padding. But since sometimes they’re too bulky, you can’t land some of the flashier shots. If you build up enough experience, you can use the 10 oz.

For heavy bag work and mitt work, 10 oz, 12 oz, and 14 oz are recommended. Lighter gloves are usually great because they provide enough padding to allow you to strike with precision without hurting your hands. Any good training gloves should be comfortable enough to allow you to punch without you having to pull or adjust yourself while you’re wearing them.

It’s also great for knuckle and wrist conditioning: your bones will adapt for more knuckle and wrist support to punch harder when you start loading on power shots. Lighter gloves provide good options for training, too, so don’t count them out!

Price: Quality

A good pair of boxing gloves should be between 60 to 40 dollars; anything more than that is a little overpriced unless they offer a feature that most competitors don’t, such as leather fabric, a good warranty, or exclusive design. The best boxing gloves for beginners shouldn’t be too expensive, yet still, provide enough good training.

You should always check the foam padding and the weight and choose the appropriate glove depending on whether you’re sparring or using it for a heavy bag.

Cleaning The Boxing Glove

Given the current situation with the shutdowns and all, hygiene has become a top priority for many people, which should have always been, but anyway… I’m a germophobe, don’t mind me.

It doesn’t really matter whether your glove is made of real leather or synthetic leather. The process of cleaning is the same.

The number one reason mold, moisture, and bad smell are building up in your glove is because you’re not airing it out after training. You probably finish with your training gloves and throw them in your dark-closed gym bag, and that’s what leads to a glove breaking down.

The first step to preserving your glove is by wiping out the sweat and moisture from it after training with a piece of cloth (inside and outside of the glove).

Unwrap the laces or velcro strap and open the glove to let the air in. You then proceed to put it in front of a window or a well-ventilated area. Do not just throw it in the corner of your room. Been there, done that…

Now, if you got blood on your first pair of gloves (possibly sweat and tears of your training partner, if not, no worries, you’ll get ’em next time…), you could use alcohol. The issue is with the real leather; if you use alcohol, it could dry out the glove and create cracks. Use a 70% alcohol solution, mix it with water, and clean with a cloth.

Another preferred option is using disinfecting wipes, for gloves are the best concerning preservation. Last but not least using liquid dish soap mixed with water.

Don’t forget to let them dry! This is how you avoid moisture build-up. You could throw dryer sheets inside your boxing glove too, and leave them inside until the next training session.

Do my gloves have to be made of leather for them to be durable?

Well, as a rule of thumb, leather is always good for longevity, but there’s new technology emerging with companies such as RDX and Ring-Side Pro, which make great synthetic leather gloves with the same average life span as real leather boxing gloves. It is really a matter of preference and comfort; you could buy two different types of gloves and try them out if you’re planning to stick to boxing in the long run.

It never hurts to have an extra pair (no pun intended).

How long does a pair of gloves last?

Usually, a pair of boxing gloves last between one to three years. Once the foam padding starts to soften, it’s time to hang them up, or you could just use them bag gloves. When the foaming softens, the shock absorption is reduced, so you could seriously hurt your opponent if you spar with those gloves.

Your gloves’ longevity depends on how often you use them and how intense your training is. Usually, leather boxing gloves last longer, but as we said before, that’s not always the case.

Often, when looking for the best boxing gloves for beginners, the cheapest pair of boxing gloves always pops up. They’re not an iPhone; you cannot buy them and upgrade them, so you have to get good quality boxing gloves from the get-go.

Do boxing gloves hurt more?

Boxing gloves cover more surface area, giving the user more confidence to throw hard shots in boxing sparring. Usually, the 16 ounces have more padding, so they still hurt upon impact. If someone’s using 8 oz gloves, they would be more careful not to hurt their partner. Check out the boxing gloves size section up above in our buyer’s guide for more information.

Do boxing gloves reduce brain damage?

Yes, the padding in boxing gloves helps take away a bit from the sting of punches. For beginners, your coach will usually show you the ropes so that you take less damage in sparring when you train. You need a pair of gloves that have good padding while ensuring that you don’t get hurt in your boxing workouts.

Conclusion

Boxing is a full-contact sport, so it goes without saying that you need proper protection. Hopefully, now you know enough about choosing the best boxing gloves for you for the best boxing experience.

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Vlad

A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, owner and writer of BJJ Bear.

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