What gloves should I buy?

Do not buy gloves in week one. I bring gloves, and what you need depends on what you end up doing.

When you are ready, buy one good pair of boxing training gloves. For most adults doing pad work and controlled sparring, 14 or 16 oz is the honest answer. Lighter gloves are for the bag and for competition, and in competition the event rules decide anyway. Heavier protects your hands, and it protects whoever you are hitting.

Buy them with a wrapped hand, not a bare one. Wraps take up real room, and a glove that feels perfect on a naked hand will be too tight the first time you wrap up properly. That is the single most common mistake I watch people make. See do I need to wrap my hands.

What to look for: a wrist closure that actually holds, a snug fit over a wrap, padding that does not pack flat after a month, and leather if you want it to outlast the year.

Different jobs want different gloves. MMA gloves are small and open-fingered and are no good on the mitts. Bag gloves are not sparring gloves. If you are only buying one pair, buy the training gloves, because most of the hours you put into a glove will be on the mitts and Thai pads. See what pad work is.

If you end up with a bag at home, the same pair does the job, though bag rounds are harder on padding and on wrists than pad rounds are. See whether to buy a heavy bag for home.

Ask me before you spend anything. I sold this gear out of the shop for years and I would rather you bought one good pair than three bad ones. See what gear I bring.