If you're looking for the best boxing gloves for beginners and everything else there is to know about boxing gloves, you're at the right place!
Like everything else, the market is saturated with an insane amount of gloves, making it hard for the average consumer or boxing beginner to choose the best gloves that would meet his/her purpose.
Here, we'll explain all about the best boxing gloves for you and factors you should consider before making the purchase.
Why Wearing the Right Boxing Gloves is Important for Beginners
For beginners, choosing a pair of boxing gloves is quite a challenge. Choosing the right gloves can significantly reduce your chances of injury and give you a great experience in the boxing gym (or boxing ring).
For those who are ambitious, they may think of securing the pair of gloves that advertise "insane knockout power" or "extreme speed and precision." Do not fall for those tricks!
Instead, look at the more important factors that give the quality and safety you deserve (and need) as a beginner. For kids, you can check out our guide to choosing kids boxing gloves.
We will go into further detail, but the important thing to consider when choosing gloves for beginners is safety, support, and comfort.
How to Choose the Right Size and Weight Boxing Gloves
As mentioned earlier, the best boxing gloves for beginners are hard to identify as there are several factors to consider. Two of the most significant factors are the size and weight of the equipment.
To choose the right size and weight boxing gloves, consider the following:
How Does it Feel or Fit?
The size of your hand and wrist can actually limit the pairs that you can use. Small hands require smaller equipment while large hands require larger equipment.
If you have medium-sized hands, then it would be even more challenging to identify the best pair for you.
Smaller gloves (10-ounce and below) typically have a smaller clearance and wiggle room when inserting your hands into them. See our guide to the best boxing gloves if you have small hands.
Larger gloves (12-ounce and above) generally have bigger openings, giving you an easier time putting them on and taking them off.
Make sure that your hands and wrists fit snugly within the gloves. We recommend that you wear them and test them out for at least 15 minutes to get a feel for the fit.
Do You Think You Can Hold Your Arms Up With the Gloves On?
Something you will be doing a lot of in boxing is keeping (or trying to keep) your hands and arms up.
Your coach or trainer will most likely tap (or smack) your arms to remind you that they should stay up almost all the time.
With this to consider, try and check if the size and weight are light enough for you to hold your hands and arms up but large enough to allow for the needed padding and support.
How is the Wrist Support?
The support offered to your wrist is something that you should heavily consider when choosing gloves.
One of the most common injuries beginners experience is caused by wrong punching technique, leading to awkward muscle and bone injuries on and around the wrist area.
Ensure that the gloves you get have adequate wrist support. This can be felt by how thick or heavy the wrist portion of the gloves is.
Does it Have Sufficient Padding in the Knuckle Area?
Yet another common point of injury belongs to that of your fingers and knuckles. For beginners especially, knuckle or finger-related injuries are almost unavoidable.
To ensure minimum damage to your hands, pick the proper size and weight gloves that give you ample padding in the knuckle area.
How Do You Plan on Using the Gloves?
Do you plan on exclusively doing heavy bag or speed bag work? Are you thinking of engaging in light sparring sessions? Does your workout involve pad/mitt work and shadowboxing?
Identify what kind of drills and workouts you will be doing when boxing to know which size and weight boxing gloves are best for your situation.
As a general rule of thumb, 12-ounce boxing gloves are great for all-around boxing workouts. You can go for smaller gloves if you plan to do pad-work and low-impact boxing drills, but we recommend that you get larger gloves if you will go heavy on the heavy bag and engage in sparring sessions to minimize injury.
Materials: Leather vs Synthetic, Padding, Mesh, Lining
When it comes to the materials for boxing gloves for beginners, you have to look out for the following particulars:
Leather vs Synthetic Leather
Leather gloves are more durable and can last you for years (decades, even) but come at a hefty price tag.
Synthetic leather gloves are slightly less durable but are offered in a more affordable, entry-level price range.
Padding
Traditional and premium glove brands use horsehair to fill up the padding of the glove.
These days, boxing brands utilize layered latex foams or injection-molded latex foam technology to provide safe, thick, and dense cushioning.
Stitching
Stitching also varies depending on the pricepoint or manufacturer of the equipment. Some hand-made gloves are manually stitched using a small, specialized stitching machine while others are factory/mass-produced.
Mesh
The mesh is the major portion of the glove that dictates airflow, breathability, and comfort. Some brands offer a thick, dense mesh, while others have developed a lightweight, breathable mesh inside the boxing glove.
Inner Lining
The inner lining is more of a diagram or guide as to how the glove will be shaped and formed. Some companies offer a variety of designs and shapes, but most brands conform to how the hand should look like when making a fist (as should be the case when training in boxing).
Lace-up vs Velcro
The Lace-up vs Velcro debate has been a long-winded disagreement among boxing enthusiasts and veterans.
Luckily, for beginners, there is no need to give deep thought to this.
Lace-ups are used because they offer a better, tighter fit. This is needed to avoid unnecessary movement or slippage.
If you are in an amateur or professional boxing bout, you do not want your equipment going in any which way it chooses.
For beginners or casual boxers, having a velcro closure or strap is the way to go. This is more convenient, easy to do on your own (or with a coach or exercise buddy), and would take less than 10 seconds to accomplish for both hands.
For general use and all-around training, we urge beginners to go with velcro closure boxing gloves.
Top 3 Boxing Gloves for Beginners
Now that we explained the technicalities and important factors to consider when picking the best boxing gloves for beginners, it is now time to talk about our personal favorites.
Below are a few of what we consider to be the best beginner boxing gloves, in no particular order.
1. Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves
When it comes to the best boxing gloves for beginners, Everlast always makes it to the list. The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves are made from 80% polyurethane and 20% polyester.
It comes in a few colors and offers great support by using extended fabric all the way up to the wrist. If you are looking for a pair of gloves that would minimize injuries that are common to beginners, these gloves are one of your best bets.
These gloves are produced with Durahide, and has an added layer of foam to beef up knuckle protection from impact and to evenly distribute the impact if the punch lands too strongly or wrongly.
These gloves are available in 8, 12, 14, and 16-ounce configurations. Due to the affordability of the gloves, you may want to get an extra pair or two to get your family and friends to tag along.
These gloves, and the brand that made them, are deeply rooted in the heritage of Thailand, the birthplace of one of the most famous combat sports - Muay Thai. The company, Venum, truly made their mark with the Venum Challenger 2.0 Boxing Gloves.
These gloves are made with high-quality polyurethane synthetic leather and sports an interior mesh that allows for breathability, allowing for the much needed air flow for extended sessions in the boxing gym.
The gloves have a velcro strip closure system, that is paired with an elastic mechanism that securely holds the gloves around the hands of the beginner to avoid slippage and unintended glove movement.
You can get these gloves in 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16-ounce sizes. They also come in a wide variety of styles and colors. If you are looking for value and durability, these may be the best beginner boxing gloves for you.
Yet another pair of gloves and brand from Thailand, the heart and soul of Muay Thai, the Twins Special Boxing Gloves is one of the best options for beginners looking to get their own gloves.
The brand is a massive hit across the globe and has leveraged their popularity to enter into the boxing industry, and these gloves are one of their best offerings to date.
These gloves boast high-quality craftsmanship at a very reasonable price point.
Unlike other similarly-priced competitor gloves that use synthetic leather, these gloves are made of genuine leather, which is an added premium to an already good pair of gloves. With this particular material, you will not be needing another set of gloves anytime soon, even if you train on a regular schedule.
These gloves offer sufficient wrist support, thick and dense padding, and are a perfect fit for beginners' hands.
They are offered in several sizes and come in a variety of colors, depending on availability. These are great gloves to begin with before entering the boxing lifestyle.
Bonus: Our 2 Best Hand Wraps
Now that you know our top picks for the best boxing gloves for beginners, let us briefly talk about our top picks for beginners for hand wraps.
Within every boxing glove is a hand wrap that is meant to add an extra degree of safety and wrist support (with the added benefits of absorbing moisture and preventing the build-up of bacteria within the boxing glove).
Pair your best boxing gloves with the best possible hand wraps for beginners! Below are two of our favorite hand wraps for boxing training and martial arts.
1. Meister Adult Semi-elastic Hand Wraps
The Meister Adult Semi-elastic Hand Wraps are amazing hand wraps with a maximum length of 180 inches (457 centimeters). They are commonly used by MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and boxing athletes.
The wraps are produced using high-quality, breathable spandex and cotton blend to provide the best possible support for training and sparring days.
These wraps are also designed to be space-saving, to reduce the bulk or weight the use carries on his hands when wearing both the hand wraps and the boxing gloves.
Another product from a brand you should now be well acquainted with, Venum introduces their own product offering in the hand wraps space - the Venum Boxing Hand Wraps.
These Venum hand wraps can be used in a variety of sports, from boxing to Muay Thai to kickboxing to other forms of martial arts.
They are elasticated, being made from stretch cotton, offering unmatched comfort and breathability when worn.
The featured thumb straps are another notable feature. Their thumb straps make wrapping easy to do and come with a hook-and-loop closing system that would offer the beginner an excellent fit. To add to this, velcro fasteners are also offered, making the fit even better.
Match the Venum hand wraps with one of our best boxing gloves, the Venum Challenger 2.0 Boxing Gloves, and you are good to go in training!
Frequently Asked Questions
It is important that beginners ask as many questions as possible when it comes to buying their boxing gloves or training gloves.
Some people may have been gifted boxing gloves while others prematurely purchased a pair of gloves thinking they were great beginner boxing gloves.
So before we get to the conclusion (and our personal favorite for best beginner boxing gloves), here are a few of the most frequently asked questions by beginners regarding boxing gloves and training gloves.
1. What oz boxing gloves should I use?
The size (or oz) of your boxing gloves greatly depends on what you plan to use them on, but for starters, we recommend that beginners get a 12-ounce pair of gloves for all-around training. By all-around training, we mean pad work training, heavy bag training, shadow boxing, and light sparring.
2. How do you pick the right size boxing gloves?
To pick the right size pair of gloves, you would need to know the size of your hands, your weight, your skill level, and how you intend to use them as training gloves. Remember, the size of the gloves is an indicator of the amount of padding (ex. thickness of density foam), the material used (ex. synthetic leather), and the overall weight of the boxing gloves.
3. Should I get 12 oz or 14 oz boxing gloves?
Choosing between a 12 oz or 14 oz pair of gloves ultimately depends on what you plan to use them for. If you are training for an amateur or professional bout, you may need to go a size up to prevent any hand or wrist injury. If you plan to use the pair of gloves as speed bag gloves, heavy bag gloves or all-around training gloves, then the 12-ounce pair of gloves is what we would recommend.
4. Are 12 oz boxing gloves good?
If you are unsure of what size to buy, or what you plan to do with them in training, the best size training gloves would be a pair of 12 oz boxing gloves. A 12 oz pair of gloves or training gloves is considered by the majority to be the best boxing gloves for beginners, especially if these gloves will be treated by beginners as bag gloves or training gloves.
Conclusion (Plus Our Personal Favorite)
When it comes to choosing the best boxing gloves for beginners, you have to consider a lot of factors. Hopefully, we have provided you with sufficient information to help you make an informed decision before you click "add to cart" or visit your nearest sports and training retail store.
We may have talked a decent amount about synthetic leather, density foam, wrist support, and a bunch of other technical aspects, but when it comes to boxing training, we declare that the best boxing gloves for beginners are the Venum Challenger 2.0 Training Gloves.
We find these to be the best beginner boxing gloves because they are lightweight, offer good wrist support, made of high-quality polyurethane synthetic leather, extremely versatile, available in several online and retail stores, and come in a variety of styles and colors. Trust us when we say that as a beginner, you will not regret purchasing these boxing gloves.