Your Guide to Boxing Gloves Types and Uses

Boxing Gloves are one of the most ingenious tools invented and used for combative sports such as MMA or Muay Thai. At Infinitude Fight, our team is often Heart Eyed while inspecting a new pair of Boxing Gloves – even more so with our range of Customized Boxing Gloves. 

Did we ever tell you before that we love Boxing gloves? Yes? – Cool!

Whether you are considering taking training up or have been at it for a while, you must have noticed that there are several variations of a boxing glove, and not all boxing gloves USA are the same. What is interesting is that there are more variations than you would think – different styles of boxing gloves have their unique uses. 

Types of Boxing Gloves

Below is a swift refresher on the types of boxing gloves you may need or see around. 

Training Gloves / Bag Gloves

Most brands advertise their boxing gloves as training gloves or bag gloves*. Typically these are all-around boxing gloves – they are pretty versatile. Occasionally, they are manufactured for pad work or bag work; mostly, these gloves are multipurpose and used in every training type. 

You will need a pair of these gloves for the most part, so it is essential to remember that not all all-purpose gloves are labeled as training gloves. They are called Boxing gloves. 

*Note, Modern bag gloves – sometimes referred to as super bag gloves – and the traditional bag gloves are different from each other, as explained later in the article. We recommend staying away from traditional bag gloves as they simply do not offer the support and protection of modern boxing gloves. 

For a complete selection of custom boxing gear, visit Infinitude Fight!

Sparring Gloves

Sparring boxing gloves are designed to protect both your partner and you – from being injured. Essentially you can use any pair of boxing gloves for sparring – provided they are of acceptable weight class – yet, most brands design and sell gloves specifically for sparring.

Sparring gloves are somewhat similar to training boxing gloves, yet their foam padding is a bit soft and more cushioned for optimized distribution of impacts – making the impacts, less piercing. 

Sparring gloves come in various weights – however, we recommend you to buy boxing gloves for sparring that range from 14 oz to 16 oz – of course, that also depends on your body weight. 

When it comes to sparring, it is primarily the coach’s decision on whether or not you will wear a pair of gloves. Your trainer or coach has a ton of experience and knows a thing or two more than you do; if they think that your gloves are unsafe, of wrong weight, or simply unfitting – take their word on it!

It is important to check in with your gym to know what glove weight they suggest for sparring and make sure you buy boxing gloves from a reliable brand. 

Amateur Competition Boxing Gloves

Amateur competition gloves are mostly provided to fighters by the promotion – so you will probably never need to buy these – however, it is worth knowing what they are. 

Such gloves are usually in red or blue colors, depending on the fighters’ corner. Furthermore, it is not rare for these gloves to have highlighted knuckle areas – these features help judges score the fight quickly.  

Professional Boxing Gloves

Picking out professional boxing gloves is only crucial if you plan on competing in a professional fight.  As it is evident with the name, professional boxing gloves are designed for use in professional competitions. Professional boxing gloves, however, do prioritize offense ability as opposed to comfort and protection.  

Professional boxing gloves have firmer padding making the gloves compact. Professional gloves are designed to inflict as much a sharp blow as possible with each hit; thus, these are not suitable for regular training and shouldn’t be used outside the competition. 

You will be using 8oz or 10oz boxing gloves mostly, which is, however, dependent on your weight. Pro gloves are always lace-up; it is pretty rare for high-level competitions to permit the use of Velcro gloves, if at all.

Be advised; many local sports stores sell ordinary training gloves as pro-style gloves; this is just brands using the term as a ploy. The most significant indicator for authentic pro gloves is the boxing gloves price; if your local sports shop is selling pro gloves dirt cheap, they aren’t pro gloves. 

Professional gloves do not come in cheap, and many boxers shell out hundreds of bucks for a quality pair. So, be mindful of the boxing gloves price. 

Mexican Style Boxing Gloves

In an era when the boxing gloves used to be huge bubbles of padding, the Mexican-style gloves were unique. Mexican gloves stood out from the lot owing to their sleek shape and compact padding. 

Today, the features of a Mexican-style boxing glove have become more standardized, with the term being used more liberally. Still, there are a bunch of authentic Mexican-style gloves available in the industry. To be precise, they come as a sub-category of professional boxing gloves. 

A good pair of Mexican gloves are more tightly fitted to the hand and have a more extended cuff. Still, the main difference is their compact padding. In theory, they are popular for being perfectly molded to the hand after breaking into them – however, this also depends on the brand of the glove. 

Muay Thai Boxing Gloves

The exciting thing about Muay Thai is that it is an entirely different sport from boxing, and thus Muay Thai gloves have developed accordingly. The design of the gloves is based more on kickboxers who need a more versatile pair of gloves. 

Muay Thai manufacturers are mostly in Thailand, and each brand has its unique aspects. However, the fundamental focus is on a design with a more distributed padding for protection on the back of the hand and added flexibility in the grip, letting the palm open up and catch kicks. Most brands also put extra padding down the palm side.

Muay Thai boxing gloves are most liked for their shape by many people, yet some people do not prefer them at all. It all comes down to their use; many features of a Muay Thai glove are ideal for kickboxing and Muay Thai. 

Additional Types of Gloves

Few other types of boxing gloves USA are manufactured, and you should be familiar with those too. Let us help you with those by breaking them down, so you know what else is available in the market when you decide to buy boxing gloves. 

The undermentioned gloves have specific uses and are mostly not usable for kickboxing, Muay Thai, or simple boxing. 

Traditional Bag Gloves 

Traditional bag gloves make for a small alternative for boxing gloves – with minimum protection. Old-fashioned bag gloves do not have many shielding properties. They are not allowed by the gyms for training. Still, they are available with many stores and make for a bundle offer – coming free with the punching bags. 

We do not recommend traditional/old-style boxing gloves. Their shape is most basic, and the padding is marginal. Also, there is hardly any wrist support. 

MMA Gloves

MMA gloves are exclusive for Mixed Martial Arts; though not technically boxing gloves, they are used for a similar purpose. In contrast to boxing gloves, MMA gloves are fingerless, mostly with an open palm to facilitate grappling. Remember, MMA gloves are not needed/used in training for boxing or Muay Thai. 

Semi Contact Gloves 

Semi contact gloves are the kind used for Karate or Taekwondo, and let’s refresh – these aren’t suitable for boxing or Muay Thai either. They can be termed as a cross between boxing gloves and MMA gloves. 

The padding in Semi contact gloves is marginal and made out of dipped foam. They are used for semi-contact sports, so they do not have to provide much protection as the boxing gloves have to. 

Buy Boxing Gloves – How to Make a Decision?

Thinking about purchasing new Boxing gloves? Answer the below-mentioned questions to make an informed decision;

1. Do I need gloves for training or competition?
2. For the competition, what boxing glove size by weight class is suitable for me?
3. For training, what will I use the gloves for? – Pad/Bag work? Sparring? Or both?
4. Will I be using gloves for sports that require catching/blocking kicks?
5. Do I need different gloves for each activity, or is one pair for all? 

Ask yourself these questions and refer to the information aforementioned in the article; you will be easily able to identify your needs and pick out the type of gloves most suitable. 

Still, if you have doubts, contact Infinitude Fight, and our professional trainers/boxers will try and help you with all your queries, or you can also ask for your coach’s advice.