When you search “boxing gloves” online you may have been surprised to find out that not all gloves come standard. Not only are there different types of gloves but different sizes. It can be hard to figure out which size we need, so I decided to come to the rescue with this post. Let’s talk about what size gloves you need for which situation.
The short answer to your question is whatever size you want!
But the truth is, different scenarios require different sizes. Glove size can be determined by your size, or activity, and we will breakdown each, but first:
Why Use Different Size Gloves?
There are two reasons you want to use different size gloves. One is that all people come in different sizes. Whether you’re 130 pounds or 250 pounds, you will want to switch up glove size accordingly. The other will depend on what your goals are when using the gloves. Based on the activity and what you want to achieve, your glove size will vary.
First let’s talk about…
Glove Size by Weight
Depending on your actual size and the size of your hand, you will require certain glove size for use. For that we have a handy chart that we borrowed from Title Boxing.
Here you will see a neat breakdown of glove size by weight for different scenarios. Now that is the ideal scenario if you’re one to follow rules. However, if you step into the boxing gym, you will quickly realize that rules and regulations aren’t always followed closely.
So let’s dive into boxing gloves sizes by activity.
Boxing Gloves Sizes By Activity, What a Good Coach Would Recommend
When it comes to activity you will want to vary the sizes gloves that you use. Some of it will depend on your size, and sometimes it doesn’t matter. Here is breakdown of each exercise and the glove sizes recommended for each.
Sparring Glove Size
If you’re sparring, then the gloves size recommended is 16 oz if you’re under 150 pounds and 18 0z if you’re over 150 pounds. There are a few reasons for this.
First, is it will help reduce the chance of any injuries. These can be hand related injuries or things like cuts and bruises that can ruin your chances of being able to compete come fight time. The bigger the better. I was walking around around 145 when I competed and I still used 18 0z gloves for sparring.
The second reason you want to use bigger gloves is it helps with conditioning. Keeping your hands up with heavier gloves and throwing punches with heavier gloves is like isolated gravity training for your hands.
So for sparring, stick to 16 oz or higher, preferably 18 oz gloves.
Heavy Bag Training Glove Size
With the heavy bag it will depend on what your goals are as you’re hitting the bag.
If you’re looking to condition and unload on power, then anything 16 oz and up is recommended. This will give you enough padding to where you won’t hurt yourself. It would also provide the weight necessary to condition your shoulders to keep your hands up for long periods of time. This way when you compete with smaller gloves it will be far less strain on your shoulder with the lighter gloves on.
However, if you’re looking to work on speed and/or are trying to harden your knuckles, you should go lighter.
For speed you can use 8 to 10 oz gloves. This way you still have some slight resistance but you are able to better see what your full speed potential is and you can focus on throwing faster punches from there. It’s good to go lighter sometimes to see what heavy glove training is doing to your hand speed and at what rate its improving.
If you want to harden your knuckles, the best way to do it is with really light gloves. This can range from 8 oz gloves or smaller. You can use bag gloves with no padding or even MMA gloves will do the trick. Once your hands are hardened up you can try hitting the bag with just hand wraps on. If you aren’t aware of why your hands harden when you do this, here’s a quick definition of Wolff’s Law:
“…bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed. If loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of loading. ”
Make sure you don’t start off punching full power with smaller gloves. Test your limits an and make sure you aren’t hurting your hands. Build up power over time and reduce glove size if need be as your hand strengthens. Eventually your knuckles should be able to handle the load of no glove.
Competition
This is one activity where you don’t get to pick what glove size you want to wear, the laws and governing bodies pick them for you.
Professional Glove Size
As a professional competitor you get to fall into one of two glove sizes. If you’re under the welterweight limit of 147 pounds you will wear 8 oz gloves. If you’re over you will wear 10 oz gloves for the fight.
This is a big step down from the bigger gloves you’re training with so you may be excited to lay your hands on the other guy, just remember the other guy is wearing them too. That was a reminder I was given when my opponent threw his first left jab and it landed, my whole face went numb. That’s when I realized it wasn’t just me who’s going to lay some serious leather in this fight. Definitely a more fun fight with smaller gloves.
Amatuer Glove Size
Amateur is the same concept but 2 oz’s up. Up to 141 is 10 oz gloves and then its 12 oz gloves all the way up to super heavyweight. However, in some states it varies and lighter weight classes may be allowed to use 8 oz gloves.
MMA Glove Size
The modern day gladiators wear the same glove size whether ametuer or pro. All MMA fighters wear a brutal 4 oz glove and it’s as close to the fist as you will get professionally.
What Size Glove Should I Buy?
Given that information, you may still be confused about which size gloves to get. Well here is the short response.
16 oz Gloves for Training
If you’re only able to afford one pair of gloves, then buy a 16 oz pair of gloves. This will be multi purpose and will aide you in sparring, heavy bag work, mitt work, and all training related activities. They will protect your hands and help you work on conditioning so that your shoulders and lungs will perform even better with lighter gloves, or no gloves on.
Since competition gloves are provided during fight time, you won’t have to worry about owning a pair of competition gloves.
Get a Second Pair if You Can
If you’re able to, its always helps to have two pairs of gloves, one small and one bigger depending on what you’re looking to work on that day. What I do sometimes is do a few rounds with heavier gloves, and then switch to lighter gloves for the tail end of the workout so I can finish strong without getting into the habit of bad form through fatigue.
If you’re getting two pairs, I recommend getting an 18 oz and 10 oz pair of gloves.
Recommended Gloves
Here are a few pairs of gloves that I have personally used and enjoyed.
Get to Work
In the end, don’t overthink it. Just get yourself a good pair of gloves and get to work. It won’t matter if you trained with 10 oz or 18 oz gloves as long as you trained hard. Nothing beats hard work in the gym so often times it’s best to focus on your craft and the work that’s in front of you to get better at it. Pick a pair that’s at the nearest store close to you and get to it. Remember guys like Mike Tyson, Ali and Robinson didn’t have the luxury of reading reviews and picking glove sizes. They worked with what they had and put the hours in.
Drop me a comment below if you have a question.
Brawl all day!
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