What Size Boxing Gloves for Men?

Investing in the right boxing gloves is essential; you want a high-quality, durable and comfortable pair so you can keep training for as long as possible before they wear out and you need a new pair. But as well as the quality of the gloves, you need to make sure you have the right size pair for your safety. 

You may have borrowed a pair from a buddy or simply used a pair from the communal box at the boxing gym, but if they’re too tight or too loose, you’re risking damaging your hands. Any injury to your hands will cause you to miss boxing training sessions which will stop you from enjoying the sport temporarily, as well as set you back slightly or significantly, depending on the severity of your injury. Either way, it’s not worth the risk when you can simply get yourself the right pair of boxing gloves!

Here’s everything you need to know about choosing the right pair of boxing gloves for you. 

Why You Need the Right Size Boxing Gloves

While having the right size boxing gloves is important for your comfort, the most crucial reason you need to wear boxing gloves that fit well is your safety. Boxing gloves are sized according to their weight, from 8 to 18 oz, although with lighter, 6 oz gloves, available for children. The weight of the boxing glove is determined by the munt of padding used, which is essential for the protection of your fists. 

Each strike in boxing, whether you’re hitting a punching bag, focus pads or an opponent, will send a shockwave into your hand and through your arm. Being the first point of impact, your hands are at a greater risk of injury than the rest of your body, although without sufficient protection, you can even receive shoulder and neck injuries from your punches. The padding in the glove will absorb most of the shock from your punch, preventing the shockwave from damaging your bones and tissue which can cause serious injury. 

If your boxing gloves are too loose, your hand will move around within the glove, putting your bones and hand tissue at risk of injury from unnatural movements, and the cushion will not be as effective at absorbing the shock. If your gloves are too tight, you won’t be able to move as freely, and the cushion in the glove will also not be effective at reducing the impact of the punch. 

Choosing the Right Size Boxing Gloves for You

Generally speaking, the larger the person, the larger the glove needed, however, boxing gloves are usually designed for men, so you don’t need to factor this in when choosing the right size boxing gloves for you. What’s more, most people participating in boxing training will require a few pairs of boxing gloves in different weights, as different training activities will require different levels of cushion in the gloves. 

If you’re only participating in boxing fitness classes like BoxFit or Boxercise, you won’t be sparring or getting involved in real fights, so you’ll only need one size of boxing glove for your training. Although a couple of pairs of the same size can be useful to keep the gloves cleaner and last longer since you can’t put boxing gloves in the washing machine. 

For boxers wanting to train, spar and take part in real boxing matches, you’ll need a few pairs of gloves. Your training gloves will be the average pair you use for most activities, while your sparring pair will be thicker, and your fighting pair will be thinner. 

When choosing your training pair, you should follow the following size guide, which is selected according to weight:

• People under 45 kg need 6 – 8 oz gloves
• People weighing 46 – 68 kg need 10 – 12 oz gloves
• People weighing 69 – 80 kg need 14 oz gloves
• People over 80 kg need 16 – 18 oz gloves

This size guide is appropriate for both men and women, however, some women will prefer to choose boxing gloves designed specifically for women as they will be slimmer to fit their smaller hands better. Similarly, men with larger hands may wish to choose larger boxing gloves. 

If you have large hands, you should measure the circumference of your hand (around the palm, below the knuckle and above the thumb) to see what size boxing gloves are best for you.

• 6 – 8 oz gloves for 5.5 – 6.5” hand circumference
• 10 – 12 oz gloves for 6.5 – 7.5” hand circumference
• 14 oz gloves for 7.5 – 8.5” hand circumference
• 16 – 18 oz gloves for 8.5 – 9.5″ hand circumference

What Size Boxing Gloves Do Beginners Need?

Beginners should choose their boxing gloves according to the same guide as amateurs and professionals, as boxing glove sizing is about the size and weight of the person more than their technical ability. Boxing gloves don’t make you hit harder if they’re heavier, they simply add more protection, and beginners require the same level of protection as more advanced boxers, all according to their size. 

Children who are just starting should also go by the same boxing glove size guide, as it’s about weight rather than ability. So generally speaking 6 to 10-year-olds should use 6 oz boxing gloves, and any child learning to box under 6 should have boxing gloves made specifically for children. 

What Size Boxing Gloves Do Professionals Use?

Professionals also choose their boxing gloves according to their size, however, as the smallest professional boxing gloves tend to be 8 or 10 oz, and boxers use smaller boxing gloves for real fights, most professional boxers will use 10 oz boxing gloves in matches. 

Heavyweights are categorised as boxers weighing over 90.7 kg and include legends like Mike Tyson. While they’ll use 10 oz gloves in matches, they need to use 16 to 18 oz boxing gloves when training, as they have such incredible power behind their punches, that they need to protect their knuckles from their own strength. Lighter pros like Floyd Mayweather Jr., weighing between 63.5 and 66.7 kg, will need 10 or 12 oz gloves when training, as despite being technically skilled, their punching power is much lighter than the heavyweights so there’s no need for so much padding in the gloves. 

Why You Also Need Hand Wraps

Boxing gloves add cushion to your knuckles and protect your thumbs, but for more serious protection for the small bones and tissue in your hands, you also need to wear hand wraps underneath your boxing gloves. 

Hand wraps are usually around 4 metres long, and wrap around your wrists, the palm of your hand and between each finger to add extra support to each part of your hand. The impact of your punch can cause a shockwave to travel through your hand, disrupting the small bones and sensitive tissues. If they move out of position – which can easily happen when striking something with your fists – then you can strain or sprain the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and even break the small bones in your hand.

The extra level of support added by the hand wrap can prevent movement within your hand thus preventing injury. The same can be said of your wrists, which don’t have large muscles surrounding the small bones to support them; wrapping them well can prevent twisting or bending your wrists in unnatural ways that can lead to sprains and breaks. 

Buy Your Boxing Gloves from the Best

Your safety should always be the number one priority when buying equipment for any sport, but especially boxing. The danger involved, even if you’re not competing in real matches, means that without the right safety equipment, you’re at a high risk of injury to several parts of your body, but especially your hands which take the brunt of the impact. 

Don’t risk your safety: buy professional standard boxing gloves from Maxx Pro Boxing today!