EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT BOXING GLOVE SIZING MAY WELL BE WRONG

One of the first things we ask at FightstorePro when someone comes looking for boxing gloves is: “What are you actually going to use them for?”

Because there is a very good chance that everything you think you know about boxing glove sizing is wrong.

Let’s start with the biggest misconception.

10oz isn't “small” and 16oz isn't “large”

The ounces on a boxing glove do not mean small, medium or large.

They refer to the weight of the glove.

The British Boxing Board of Control specifies 8oz gloves for professional contests from Flyweight to Welterweight and 10oz from Super-Welterweight upwards. In female contests under its rules, gloves are 10oz.

IFMA, the International Federation of Muay thai Associations, specifies 10oz gloves for its international competition, stating that the gloves shall weigh 10 ounces, with at least half of that weight being padding.

So ounces tell you something important about the glove.

But they don't tell you how big the hand compartment is.

And this is where things get interesting.

A 16oz glove can be small

Different brands, models and styles can have dramatically different internal fits.

Some gloves are deliberately designed with a tight, compact hand compartment. Fairtex, for example, describes its BGV1 as having a “contoured, tight-fit hand compartment”, while the BGV19 is specifically described as having a compact hand compartment.

That means you can put on a 16oz glove and find it surprisingly tight — while another 16oz glove from another manufacturer can feel considerably larger.

Fairtex BGV1 and BGV19 are particularly good examples of why simply saying “I need a 16oz glove” doesn't tell us enough.

There is also Rival, which takes this even further.

Its RS11V and RS1 sizing charts actually include 16oz-Small as a specific fit, alongside standard 16oz. Rival combines glove weight with hand circumference and bodyweight ranges rather than pretending that ounces alone determine the size.

That's a very different way of looking at glove sizing.

What are you actually using them for?

This is arguably more important than your bodyweight.

A glove for bag and pad work may be chosen for feel, speed and impact. Some fighters deliberately prefer a lighter glove for this type of training.

But if maximum hand protection is your priority, simply choosing the lightest glove possible isn't necessarily the answer.

Then there is sparring.

A sparring glove has a different job. When you're hitting another person, the design and padding need to help reduce the impact you deliver to your training partner. That doesn't mean the glove doesn't protect your own hands — it absolutely does — but sparring is fundamentally different from hitting a heavy bag.

And then there is Muay Thai and kickboxing.

A boxing glove and a Muay Thai glove may both say “16oz”, but the design can be very different. Muay Thai gloves often have different shaping, flexibility and padding distribution because they need to accommodate clinching, catching kicks and other aspects of the sport.

This is why we don't believe in choosing gloves from a chart alone

A sizing chart can give you a starting point.

It cannot tell you how a particular glove will actually feel on your hand.

Your hand shape matters. Your hand circumference matters. The brand matters. The model matters. The intended use matters. Your preference matters.

And sometimes the only way to discover the difference is to put the gloves on.

At FightstorePro, you can put a 14oz next to a 16oz. You can try different brands. You can compare the hand compartments. You can feel the padding. You can make a fist. You can see how the wrist feels.

And quite often, the glove a customer thought they wanted isn't the glove they leave with.

That's not surprising.

Because boxing glove sizing isn't really about choosing a number.

It's about choosing the right glove for the person, the hand and the job.

And sometimes you need to feel it to know.