Sidekick Boxing

The Ultimate Guide To Boxing Gloves Weights

If you have just started a combat sport like boxing or kickboxing, you may be wondering what are the different boxing gloves weights for, and which one is best for you. Well, each weight of boxing gloves are designed for different ages, types of training, or for competitions.

Also, as there is many different types of gloves available, a fighter may have a variety of boxing gloves for different purposes.

So, what are the different weights of boxing gloves?

When you see a pair of boxing gloves, they are usually labelled with a particular weight, which is in ounces, for example 10oz. The weight being in ounces is a standardised measurement for most boxing gloves and they usually start at 4oz, going up to 18oz.

The weight of a glove refers to the physical weight of each glove, not the total weight of the pair. So for example, on a pair of 16oz boxing gloves, each hand will weigh 16 ounces, give or take a few grams. However, the heavier the boxing gloves, the larger naturally they will be as each glove will require more materials and padding to increase the weight.

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So, how do you know you are using the right weight boxing gloves?

With many boxing gloves brands, they may state a certain weight glove is ideal for a particular size of person or hands, but this is not usually the case. The weights of gloves are recommended for different types of use of boxing. For instance, a bag glove will weigh less than a sparring glove as it doesn’t need the extra padding.

However, even though different boxing gloves types or brands may weigh the same, they could all have a different fit to your hand, because each glove has its own inner mold and how the shape of the material gets cut, so it is also important to choose a glove which is comfortable to you.

Here is a list of the types of boxing gloves and the weights:

Training Boxing Gloves

Gloves weight used: 10oz, 12oz

Training boxing gloves are probably the most purchased types of boxing gloves as they cover most aspects of boxing. There are generally two types of training gloves, bag gloves and sparring gloves.

  • Bag Gloves When you first join a club, they usually suggest to get some bag gloves to hit the punch bag or pads with. Bag gloves used to be a very basic looking glove, like a mitt. Nowadays, people tend to buy a proper style of boxing gloves in a size of either 10oz or 12oz as they are more comfortable and offer more padding than a mitt. However, for those that want a tougher workout can use as heavier gloves as they like.
  • Sparring gloves Sparring involves physical contact with partners so sparring gloves weigh more as they require extra padding for safety. Many clubs have there own house rules of the weight required to spar, which is usually 16oz and with some clubs allow 14oz gloves for women.
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Competition Boxing Gloves

Gloves weight used: 8oz, 10oz

Competition boxing gloves are a lace-up style of gloves and are not often seen used in training as they require someone else to help put them on, rather than the easy on-off velcro closure.

In boxing and kickboxing competitions, the fight gloves have to be a specific weight in order to be approved and signed off. The weight of boxing gloves for both amateur and professional bouts is usually 10oz, but sometimes 8oz for the lighter weights.

The Bbbofc state that boxing gloves shall be 8 ounces in weight for contests from Flyweight to Welterweight and 10 ounces for contests from Super-Welterweight upwards.  

Glory Kickboxing rules for the weight of the gloves is determined as follows:
Featherweight max 65kg / 143 lbs. or lighter shall wear 8 oz. gloves
Lightweight max 70 kg / 154 lbs. or heavier shall wear 10 oz gloves.

However, for novice fights like the charitable White Collar promotions may use 16oz gloves as the fighters are inexperienced.

Kids boxing gloves

Gloves weight used: 4oz, 6oz, 8oz

Children have much smaller hands to adults, so the inner hand mold needs to be reduced to fit, otherwise the gloves will slide off a child’s hand. The most common weight of boxing gloves for children is 6oz as it is suitable for most children’s ages. 4oz kids boxing gloves are ideal for toddlers of the age 3-5 years. 6oz boxing gloves are ideal for 5-11 years and 8oz boxing gloves are for children who are over 8 years or just would like the bigger size of gloves.

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Conclusion

As you can see there is quite a choice when it comes down to boxing gloves weights. It is important to buy a glove which is comfortable to you and remember you will need to wrap your hands before putting on boxing gloves, so if you want to go bigger than the recommended size, do so. Just make you do have the correct size for sparring.

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