even if I won’t compete? I’m getting more and more serious about boxing and learning a lot, but I know I will never actually compete in the ams/pros due to age/family and other obligations. I do believe though that I’ll be involved in boxing until I die probably and may participate in some sparring events in the future. What are your guys’s view on getting a nice set a gloves such as winning and/clero reyes? Is it an overkill for someone not competing?
Depends on your budget. Rival/Grant/Winning are all great brands (The latter 2 costs upwards of $300 USD a pair) but they're great at protecting your hands. They're the premium brands. Rival is from my country of Canada and I bought a pair myself (14 oz's) for $80 on sale a few years back and they've been great. Not sure what the cost is now because I've walked away from boxing training and I just train in a normal gym now. RB1's are great (Rival). Lots of professionals like Usyk, Loma, Povetkin, Beterbiev, Joshua, Manguia, Alvarez, etc etc ALL use Rival gloves.
No reason not to get nice equipment if you can afford it. Plus, better gloves often mean better comfort, they last longer, and some of them might protect your hand/wrist better too. You'll get your best bang for your buck buying from brands like TopBoxer (you have to either contact them direct or go through their eBay store), Ring To Cage (if you're in the US), UMA, Unified Boxing (if you're UK). Brands that are a little more niche or are themselves the actual manufacturer (TopBoxer, UMA) tend to give better prices, and those ones listed do great quality equipment. Plenty of the lesser known Mexican brands (they are themselves the manufacturers again) like Casanova, Seyer, JC Pacheco, Boxeo, Zaragoza, New Sporting etc, they are really high quality and also come at a good price too. Avoid Sabas though. A brand like Rival is a bit overpriced compared to some other options but about standard for the industry really. Grant is hugely overpriced. Winnings is top of the line but they're very expensive, but they are really good especially for those who want extra hand protection. Reyes are great quality but I'd say that their gloves really aren't for everyone, with their thumb placement especially. Rival sponsor a lot of top name fighters who they'll send free equipment and free customs to (all their marketing costs and being such a big company, it's part of the reason why their equipment is not quite the most cost efficient).
Expensive equipment is 100% worth it. I brought a pair of Rival RS11V Evolution Sparring Gloves in 16 oz which cost £150 but they are 100% worth it. I had problems with my wrists dont hurt at all (if im wearing wraps properly) and my nuckles are fully protected. The gloves have 9/10 wrist support (10/10 if laced) 8.5/10 padding, 9.5/10 quality (doesn't break at all, only downside is fake leather. but the material is as good as leather to be honest) They are fairly big and heavy though (im 6ft tall and 204 pounds) so if your small they might be a bit big
