Boxing, as a form of sport, goes more than a thousand years back – all the way up to the era of the Ancient Greece. The Greeks used boxing mitts in the form of sculpted rocks which they fitted onto their hands with the help of cloths and wraps. Thankfully, nowadays, boxing mitts are more generous in terms of protection they offer, with ample padding to prevent any injuries. However, it remains that back in Greek times, as well as now, selection was an important criterion in finding the exact pair of gloves that matched you best. Below are some points with which you can find the perfect pair of gloves for you:

You will need more than a single pair – the first point to understand when buying boxing gloves is that you will need more than one pair. There are special regulations that require you to use special gloves when it comes to sparring. Of course, sparring gloves can be used for training, but they do not allow you to feel the punches as much as the regular bag mitts do. Accordingly, it is a good idea to invest first in a pair of training mitts, and then buy a pair of sparring gloves once you begin sparring with other boxers.

The weight – the weight of gloves largely depends on the amount of padding they offer. Generally, the weights of the gloves come in the range of ten to twenty ounces; sparring gloves are always above the fourteen ounces range because they provide more support.

Support – the amount of support each type of glove offers differs, but usually sparring gloves offer more support than the bag mitts, which offer no or minimal support. Whilst you also need to use boxing hand wraps to properly protect your hands, if you recently suffered an injury or are the type to do well with more support for your wrists, it is a good idea to exclusively use sparring gloves – even for your everyday training, as they provide more support for your hands.

Velcro vs laces – this is definitely a question of personal preference, but most boxers prefer to avoid lacing when it comes to their gloves. The reason is quite simple, you definitely cannot tie the laces of your own gloves by yourself – you will need a coach or someone else to tie them for you and then tuck them inside your glove. Unless you are a professional boxer, you can hardly count on someone else to personally attend to you most of the time, meaning that Velcro is the better option, as you can put on the gloves yourself.