Boxing gloves should aid your performance and help you become the fighter you’re meant to be. Protection isn’t something you can take for granted when you’re a boxer: your whole career depends on you being in the best shape possible. Taking risks might reap rewards but it can also mean greater chances of injury. Instead, it’s best to rely on high-quality boxing gear to keep you safe during training and in the ring. With the sheer number of options out there, it can be confusing to know where to start when one is new to the sport. Here’s our guide to the what’s what of boxing equipment:
Boxing Gloves
In boxing, specific glove varieties with varying degrees of support are required depending on the situation. For any boxer, from amateur to professional, a nice set of boxing gloves is a necessary piece of gear. Weight, cushioning, and intended usage is considered while evaluating which gloves are right for respective scenarios, and this is how they are classified:
Compared to conventional boxing gloves, training gloves offer superior hand protection. They are versatile enough that they can be worn for training either on a punching bag, with mitts, or during light sparring. However, they can’t be used for official matches. These 14-18 oz gloves feature additional foam padding and wrist and thumb protection.
Bag Gloves
are made to be easily removable and simple to use. They usually come with velcro closures, so that the gloves may be changed during training more readily than classic lace-up boxing gloves. Boxing gyms make use of this style of the glove during training sessions with various types of bags. The gloves are not advised for sparring due to their weight range, which goes from 10 to 18oz.
Sparring Gloves
are essentially very similar to boxing training gloves, but with a varied shape and differently padded portions. To ensure that you are not injuring your opponent, the form of padding employed is softer than the standard training gloves. The purpose of one-on-one sparring sessions is to improve your abilities in the ring. For maximum safety, it is advised that novices utilize larger gloves since they provide additional cushioning and protection. After that, you can gradually reduce your weight until you reach competitive glove weights.
Boxing gloves are one category of gear that is strictly governed by the regulations of competitive boxing fights. Depending on the weight class and category, competition glove requirements are further divided into amateur and professional levels. Compared to regular training gloves, competition gloves have firmer cushioning. In order to prevent catching during a fight, the majority of competitive boxing rules demand that competition gloves sport lace-up closures rather than velcro ones.
Groin Protectors
Boxing groin guards are necessary for the ring to protect fighters from the impacts of illegal below-the-belt shots. A fighter has the freedom to select from a wide variety of boxing groin protection designs. There are some that have Velcro straps and others that have elasticated straps. Both of these choices function differently. Since the elastic strap is more adaptable and easier to wear than Velcro, it’s better for those boxers who train and compete regularly and hence require a groin protector more.
It is often advisable to get a boxing groin guard made of leather when making your selection. You will experience the highest level of comfort as a result. However, if you are on a tight budget, or want something that’s easier to clean and maintain without specialized products, you may think about purchasing one made of polyester. The types of groin protectors are:
Elasticated Single Cup
type of groin protector features an elastic band for closure and protects your primary crotch area. Although it is the most mobile, it offers the least protection overall as it does nothing to block hits to the abdomen.
Abdominal Protector with the front cup
is perhaps the most prevalent since they give some abdominal protection as well as full front coverage. Since the sides are often made of an elastic band, they are still light and easy to wear.
Full kidney protector
gives the most protection of the lot as it features padded sides. These give the abdominal and kidney protection that the others lack, but can oftentimes be uncomfortable due to their added bulk.
Shin Guards
While classical boxing does not feature much in the way of striking using the legs, kickboxing does. It’s also very much a feature of Muay Thai and MMA, The shin bone might be very strong, but damaging it is very much a possibility. No one wants to sit out due to an injury, and so a boxing shin guard is a way to go. There are a variety of shin guards that can be categorized as such:
Striking Shin Guards
come in a wide range of styles, from slimmer, more fitting models to extremely thick, cushioned shin guards. While some shin guards are cut low so that they sit atop the shin, others occasionally rise up and shield the knee area. The majority of the time, though, you’ll see that they’re made with two distinct pieces for the instep as well as the shin.
Grappling Shin Guards
are significantly thinner than their striking counterparts, with no exposed velcro straps. Instead, a neoprene back helps to hold everything in place instead of velcro straps. These shin guards often contain several tiny cushioning pieces around the ankle joint. The downside of these is that they frequently leave the toes exposed and offer limited protection for the knees.
Hybrid Shin Guards
The term hybrid shin guards typically refer to those that attempt to strike a balance between protection and utility. There is a lot of variation under the hybrid shin guard umbrella, Some of these provide the kind of protection for the knee and instep that one expects from a striking shin guard, with a complete neoprene sleeve to keep the guard in place. Others use a similar style of padding to a grappling shin guard, but with thicker padding and straps.
