Boxing Gloves

Boxing gloves are the most crucial boxing gear worn by the fighters during a match or practice. Gloves protect hands of the boxer & opponent’s head and are completely non-lethal to use. The boxing gloves used in fighting tournaments for the very first time was in Ancient Greece. Early depictions of gloves in boxing date back to around 1500 BC in Minoan Crete, which means the earliest boxing gloves were used at that time. The gloves are placed over boxer’s hand wrap made of cotton. It either has laces or Velcro to provide better fitting. 

Types of Boxing Gloves used in a boxing match

• Bag gloves - Bag gloves, also regarded as the training gloves are used for punching heavy bags and the other training bags such as double-end bags. Bag gloves can be used with or without wrapping. These gloves can avoid various injuries such as scrapes and wounds and lessen the transfer of impact forces into the boxer’s body. It also prevents boxers from breaking the hands and knuckles. The gloves are aided with padding inside and weigh approx. 12oz, 14oz, 16oz and more. The beginners usually prefer using a 12oz training glove.
• Boxing gloves - The boxing gloves are also regarded as sparring gloves. These gloves have various styles and sizes including 16oz, 14oz, 12oz, 10oz, and 8 oz. They have a relatively more straightforward design as compared to other regular gloves. Boxing gloves are manufactured in a pre-molded manner and consist of a fist shape. These gloves protect both the boxer and their sparring opponent. The padding and provided cushions in the inner layer are more comfortable and softer than the training gloves. 
• Competition gloves - The competition gloves usually weigh around 8oz, 10oz or 12 oz. The gloves protect both the boxers during a match. Competition gloves generally have less padding than the regular gloves. Gloves have their knuckles painted with white color in the scoring area. 
• Mexican style boxing gloves - In the earliest days of boxing, gloves used to have big bubbles of padding. So, the introduction of mexican style boxing gloves created a buzz as they had a sleeker design with tight padding. Nowadays, features are more standard and the term is thrown around a lot. Cleto Reyes is the top premium manufacturer of Mexican style gloves. They usually use horsehair for softer padding and goat skin as a source of leather.
• Weighted training gloves - The weighted training gloves weigh around 1 to 3 kgs. These gloves give more power to a punch. They provide a better strength of movement to the boxers and prepare them for extreme bouts. 

The use of first boxing gloves was marked in 1500 BC in Minoan Crete. Since Ancient Greek civilization, the use of gloves was pioneered for the protection of hands. The ancient gloves had leather straps that were just wrapped around the wrist. Later in Roman civilization, metal aided gloves were used to inflict greater damage. The earlier gloves lack excessive padding and had loose stitching. The new boxing gloves have mesh palm, velcro and leather stitching, better cushioning and more improvised design. The International Boxing Association makes rules regarding the measurements and fabric of the gloves.