Sparring is an essential part of boxing training, where you can put all of the combinations, footwork, movement, and other skills into practice. Safety matters a lot for sparring, and that is why having the right equipment, especially boxing gloves, is essential.
Ensuring that you use the right sparring boxing gloves with the ideal weight/size for your weight class is vital. It helps with safe, controlled sparring sessions. Read on to find out more about sparring gloves and how having the correct sparring glove size for your weight can help you fight better.
What are sparring gloves?
Sparring gloves are boxing training gloves designed for the sole purpose of sparring. They are made from softer materials and feature more padding than other gloves, so the punches can do as little damage as possible. This allows fighters to work on their skills without worrying about cuts, knockouts, concussions, and other injuries during practice.
Generally, the heavier the fighter, the heavier the sparring glove, and vice versa. Larger fighters have more power and can cause the most damage. Therefore, for the safety of the sparring participants, boxers must use gloves with more padding.
Choosing sparring gloves of the ideal weight
- 8oz Boxing Gloves
8-oz gloves are the smallest size of boxing gloves, but they should never be used for sparring sessions. They are designed as professional fight gloves for use in sanctioned professional matches. The gloves’ compact and thin padding may potentially cause considerable damage.
When worn in a professional fight, these gloves are for boxers weighing up to and including 61.2kg (135 lbs). If you go to a boxing gym with this size glove for sparring, you will not be allowed to take part.
- 10oz Boxing Gloves
As with 8-oz gloves, 10-oz gloves are also for professional bouts. This means that they should never be used for competitive or technical sparring sessions. These gloves do not feature enough padding for sparring sessions, so they can cause considerable damage.
Similarly to 8oz gloves, 10oz gloves are needed by professional boxing rules and sanctioning bodies for professional matches.
- 12oz Boxing Gloves
12 oz gloves are ideal sparring gloves for youth boxers weighing from 46 kg to 68kg (7st-10 st). However, some gyms do not let you spar in 12 oz gloves, so you should check with your gym before buying a pair.
These gloves are small for larger, more powerful boxers. However, they can still cause significant damage when used during competitive sparring sessions.
- 14oz Boxing Gloves
14-oz gloves are very protective gloves for sparring and should be used by boxers weighing between 69 kg and 80 kg. They feature far more padding than smaller glove sizes and are, therefore, a safe option for larger fighters and harder hitters.
This size is one of the most popular boxing sparring gloves and is allowed by almost all gyms. However, it may still be too small for fighters like cruiserweights and heavyweights.
- 16oz Boxing Gloves
The most common size of sparring gloves is undoubtedly 16oz. Most, if not all, weight classes can choose this for sparring sessions. 16-oz gloves feature a considerable amount of padding and protection for both the hands and the fighter being hit, making the equipment perfect for safe sparring sessions.
Fighters who weigh over 80kg should not spar in gloves smaller than 16 oz for protection and safety concerns. This ensures that boxers are as safe as possible and do not risk injury during competitions.
- 18oz Boxing Gloves
18oz boxing gloves are only used by the hardest hitters amongst all fighters, like the heavyweights. While 16 oz gloves offer enough protection, the extra 2oz ensure the utmost safety and protection during harder sparring bouts.
Due to their vast amount of soft padding, 18-oz sparring gloves have a very large profile. Because of this, they are reserved for the largest hands in boxing. Once again, these gloves provide protection to your sparring partner and your hand to ensure that you make it to fight night with no injuries.
The bottom line
This was all about the boxing sparring glove weights. End your search for the ideal pair of gloves right here. At Hit N Move, we are proud to be the leading boxing equipment brand and have a huge variety of premium-quality boxing gloves in stock. We ensure that you invest in the right, durable, comfortable gloves to enhance your performance.
Whether you are looking for lace-up sparring gloves, boxing gloves, hook-and-loop sparring gloves, or any other protective equipment, our range has you covered. Browse the selection now!