Boxing is a great full-body workout, and to get the most of it, you need to get the best boxing gloves. Not all boxing gloves are created equal. They have features customized to their workout purpose. You can choose between bag, sparring, training, and competition gloves. Each brings a little extra flair, giving you the ideal weight and support to help you maximize your form.
The best boxing gloves for sparring and heavy bag training are slightly different. Heavy bag gloves are a little lighter, so your arms won’t get tired hefting the gloves over time. They give you great padding and wrist support to protect your hands and wrists from the force of the heavy bag. A sparring glove includes padding and support but is a bit heavier. They help you be deliberate with each move, focusing on form and function as you thrust and block.
The good news is you can use the same gloves for both if you’re in a pinch. Stick to bag gloves in this case. While you won’t get the same weight, you can easily transition between the punching bag and sparring partner with bag gloves. Let’s explore the best boxing gloves for sparring and heavy bag training.
What Are the Best Boxing Gloves?
The best boxing gloves fit your hands, workouts, and budget. They should be snug and comfortable, with your fingertips just skimming the top when your hand is resting. They should slide on with extra room if you want to put wraps on. If your glove fits right, no area of your hand or fingers should feel constricted or tight. While it may take some time to break in, making a fist inside the glove should be easy.
The best boxing gloves should be weighty enough that your arms feel like they are getting a workout with each thrust and cushioned enough that you don’t feel the reverberation of each hit throughout your arm. Consider the closure type to give your wrist the support it needs and additional features like gel layers, breathability, grip bars, and more.
Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves
The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves are an Amazon fan favorite and are among the best boxing gloves. They’re a best-seller in boxing training gloves with a whopping 21,277 reviews averaging 4.7 stars.
Customers say they’re fantastic training gloves for a great price. They’re durable and long-lasting, withstanding years of training before needing to be replaced. They are the best boxing gloves for beginners, with good cushioning, breathability, and an adjustable fit. Customers love that they have a little weight to help you feel the burn in your arms as you throw punches and blocks.
The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves feature a patented Thumb-Lok, which helps secure your thumb to prevent injuries. The premium synthetic leather is durable and comfortable. It conforms to your hand for your best fit, which is why it is among the best boxing gloves. The Everlast Pro Style Training Gloves feature a curved anatomical grip, wrap-around hook and loop strap closure, and a full-mesh palm for maximum breathability. They are best for sparring, heavy bag workouts, and mitt work.
This training glove ranges in size from 8oz to 16 oz, as well as black, blue, and red. If you have questions about your ideal weight, use the handy size chart Everlast includes on the product listing. The price varies based on the size and color so that it will range from $26.02 to $105.99.
Sanabul Essential Gel Boxing Gloves
The Sanabul Essential Gel Boxing Gloves are a runner-up for the best boxing gloves, with more than 20,000 customer reviews and an average 4.7-star rating. They are affordable, made of faux leather, and have a Velcro wrap closure. They offer excellent wrist support for all types of training but are ideal for training and sparring. These gloves come in 8oz to 16oz in 8 color options. The base will always be black, but you can change the stitching color.
The Sanabul Essential Gel Boxing Gloves feature a gel impact protection foam, which helps absorb the impact of your punches. The longitudinal arch design fits your hand’s natural curvature, so it’s comfortable to wear even during long sessions. The Sanabul Essential Gel Boxing Gloves also have a mesh palm to help keep your hands cool.
Customers love these gloves, calling them the perfect fit. They are great for beginners just starting on their boxing journeys, thanks to the accessible price point. They retail for just $29.99 and are a no. 1 best seller in boxing bag gloves. The Sanabul Essential Gel Boxing Gloves are durable, and you can’t beat them for the price!
Venum Elite Boxing Gloves
The Venum Elite Boxing Gloves give you more flair than other gloves on this list, with gold branding and color choices that will turn heads — and not just because you landed a punch. With 19 color options, there are plenty of masculine, feminine, and gender-neutral designs. They range in sizes from 8oz to 16 oz and price from $58.98 to $199.99, depending on your customization.
The Venum Elite Evo Boxing Gloves feature a microfiber polyurethane casing for maximum durability. Manufactured in Japan, they have four layers of foam for maximum comfort and padding. The anatomical shape helps you optimally place your fist each time, while the perforated palm helps your hand breathe.
Customers love these gloves, with more than 6,400 reviews averaging 4.8 stars on Amazon. The Elite Evo is a step up from some of their other gloves, giving you maximum comfort, padding, and cooling while in use, especially during long sessions. They are durable, and the colors stay vivid after regular use. These are the best boxing gloves if you want to add more style to your workout, and you can use them with or without wraps.
Liberlupus Boxing Gloves
You may not recognize the Liberlupus brand name, but don’t let that worry you. Their boxing gloves are trendy and sturdy. They’re a best-seller in boxing gym equipment, with more than 5,500 positive reviews averaging 4.7 stars.
They’re ergonomically designed for a comfortable boxing experience, making them some of the best boxing gloves. The Liberlupus Boxing Gloves are made of three levels of eco-friendly foam padding with shock dispersing technology and ethically sourced vegan leather that molds perfectly to your hand. The gloves are highly breathable, with punched holes in the palm. The wrist strap enclosures help support and secure your hands and wrists with easy on and off access. On the inside is a skin-friendly nylon liner that will help repel moisture.
You can use the Liberlupus Boxing Gloves in various types of training, including kickboxing, heavy bag, Muay Thai, MMA, and sparring. They come in flat black, black, and golden, sizes 10oz to 16 oz, and retail for between $27.99 and $30.99. Customers say these are among the best boxing gloves because they are well made and have a lot of padding to protect your hands. They are comfortable and are of great value. Your gloves will retain support, shape, and cushioning even after consistent use.
Trideer Pro Grade Boxing Gloves
The Trideer Pro Grade Boxing Gloves are a great entry point for those starting with heavy bag training, sparring, Muay Thai, and kickboxing. They retail between $16.99 and $28.99, depending on the color (black and black and white) and size (8oz-16oz). More than 7,281 Amazon ratings are averaging 4.6 stars.
They are faux leather with a pre-curved foam fit to help ensure proper form. The multi-layered foam padding provides excellent impact resistance and shock absorbance. The strap wraps your wrist fully, featuring a hook and loop attachment for additional support. The palm has breathable mesh to help provide extra ventilation, preventing sweat and smell from absorbing into the gloves.
These are among the best boxing gloves because they are well designed, comfortable, and durable. At first, the padding can be stiff; however, you need to break in the gloves. Some customers report that they smell like rubber, but it will fade as you air them out. The Trideer Pro Grade Boxing Gloves have a strong Velcro closure that helps your hands and wrists feel supported. Customers are thrilled with the quality and weight for the price, so they’re worth checking out for affordable, multi-purpose gloves.
Boxing Glove Features
Your glove’s design can make or break your training, especially when looking for the best boxing gloves for sparring and heavy bag training. Choosing the right glove is about more than affordability, and here are the features you should be looking for to ensure you get the best boxing gloves.
Material
The best boxing gloves are vinyl, genuine leather, or polyurethane leather. Vinyl is the least expensive, so they’re great for starting. The downside is that they will make your hands sweaty and need to be replaced quicker as they’re not the most durable gloves. Genuine leather gloves are the most expensive, and just like fine leather boots, they mold to you and your body over time. They’re an investment, and you’ll get your money’s worth if you’re an avid boxer. Polyurethane leather is in the middle — durable but more affordable.
Padding
Especially when you’re sparring, you need all the cushioning you can get. Sparring gloves have extra padding to help absorb the impact from each hit. You won’t feel the impact vibrating up your arm if you have the right kind of glove. Training gloves often have less padding, so you can hit quickly with the proper form. Determine what type of boxing you’ll do before purchasing your gloves. Even the best boxing gloves can’t improve you if you’re wearing the wrong kind of gloves for your activity.
Weight
Heavier gloves, typically 16oz and higher, are used for sparring unless you are in the lightweight category. Bag gloves are often lighter, while general training gloves are in the middle. They tend to be all-purpose gloves that can transition from bags to sparring, which is why they are among the best boxing gloves. As a rule of thumb, the heavier the gloves, the more protection you’ll get; however, you want to ensure that the glove’s weight is proportionate to your size. Check a boxing glove size chart if you have questions about your sizing.
Breathability
Your hands will get sweaty as you work out, and some gloves feature breathable mesh pockets to help move air throughout the glove with each punch. Other gloves have punched holes in the leather in addition to the breathable mesh. These features hide in the palm or internal fingers, giving you maximum cooling effects without sacrificing cushion.
Grip Bar
Some gloves feature a grip bar between your fingers and palm to help you maintain the perfect form. It will help you keep your grip as you work out. It features dense foam, so it won’t hurt when you punch, but it will make the positioning more natural without bunching up the leather.
Tips for Keeping Your Boxing Gloves Smelling Fresh
Even the best boxing gloves will start to smell over time if you don’t take proper care of them.
Your hands are full of bacteria from everything you touch throughout the day, and when you stuff them into your boxing gloves for a workout, that bacteria can start to breed. It’s a dark, hot, moist cavern — perfect growing conditions for smelly germs to multiply; however, it doesn’t have to be!
While it may be tempting to pop your boxing gloves into the washing machine to eliminate any foul odor, resist the urge. You might eliminate the smell, but you’ll also ruin them.
Here are some preventative steps to help your gloves smell fresh. The first whiff of the best boxing gloves straight out of the box is a great feeling, and you can keep it going longer when you follow these tips.
Wipe and Spray Your Boxing Gloves Down
The workout may be over, but you’re not done with your gloves yet! Using a disinfectant cleaner, wipe down the outside surface. It will stop bacteria from growing on the surface of your gloves. Treat the inside with deodorizer spray or packets to help absorb some of the smell. Some people swear by sprinkling the inside with baby powder, baking soda, cedar chips, charcoal packs, or other deodorizers. Following these steps after each use can extend the time between deep cleanings, keeping them odor-free and in tip-top shape.
Use Hand Wraps
Your hands get sweaty when you’re working out, and hand wraps help absorb the moisture like a sponge. They also add a bit more cushion to help keep your hands supported and comfortable throughout your workout, which is always welcome even if you have the best boxing gloves. You can throw out your hand wraps or wash them after each use. Just make sure not to use the same ones for too long, or they will smell.
Air Your Gloves Out
If you’re sweaty after a workout, think about how your gloves feel! They’ve absorbed all the sweat from your hands, wrists, and arms; unlike you, a shower won’t be enough to clean them. The best thing you can do for your boxing gloves is to air them out. Air dry them or put them near a fan to express dry them. The faster your boxing gloves dry, the less odor-causing bacteria will grow, and your gloves will stay the best boxing gloves longer.
Carry Your Gloves
Tossing your gloves into your bag until the next workout is easy, even if you have the best boxing gloves and want to show them off. They’re out of sight and out of mind until the next workout, and a workout bag is a convenient way to carry them. However, you’ll regret that choice when you smell them the next workout. Not only are you taking all the bacteria from the gym and putting them into your gym bag — where you store your clean clothes — you are also giving the bacteria time to multiply.
Instead, sling them over your shoulders and carry them. If that’s not an option, wipe them down before putting them in your bag and remove them as soon as you get home. That way, you’ll still give them time to air dry.
The Final Word on Buying the Best Boxing Gloves
The best boxing gloves will be different for everyone, but you need a pair that fits your size and workout. For sparring, heavier gloves will be better, while for bag training, you may want lighter gloves. Both should offer you substantial protection with liberal padding throughout. Make sure your wrists feel supported. If you want the best boxing gloves to transition between the two, go with sparring gloves. You’ll never regret the additional weight and workout.
