There has been a lot of talk recently regarding glove size and brands. I was hoping to shed a little more light on the matter. I was having a conversation with a casual fan and they thought that the glove was invented to protect the fighters face from injury but I disagree. I am under the impression that the modern era gloves came about because the bare knuckle guys broke bones often and this was a way to prevent that. Am I wrong? I'm sure there's more to it. I would also like to know more about the construction of the gloves i.e. what type of padding is permitted by the powers that be and how much variance is allowed. i.e. can all the padding be in the wrist? Just how far do the regulations go? I hear that Reyes brand uses horse hair which can compress and separate around the knuckles and for that reason they are considered punchers gloves, while other brands use a modern type foam that compresses very little and remains uniform throughout it's use. Finally, with the Mayweather / Maidana fights Floyd dictated what gloves Maidana used in there contests and I was wondering how long the "A" side has been dictating what type of equipment their opponents use and what do you the fans think of this situation? I disagree with it, I feel that if a glove is permitted by the boxing authorities then the fighter should be allowed to use the glove of their choice, but I also understand that if 2 men come to terms then it's their business. Comments?
I agree a fighter should choose his gloves based on his strengths/weaknesses i.e power vs hand protection. I ve got no idea if theres any regulation to govern the padding distribution, its an interesting question. AAs you say, what 2 sides agree is their own business, but I do feel its a bit unsatisfying to forbid an opponent to use a regulation glove. Not very manly is it? That said, while the cleto reyes are definitely a punchers glove I find some of the everlast designs to be the smallest, thinnest gloves ive ever tried. The first time I heard of opponents dictating the glove size was in the hagler leonard fight where the 8oz gloves were replaced by 10oz at leonards insistence, don't know if anyone has earlier examples
I agree about fighters being able to choose gloves they like. Never liked that one of the things that Mayweather negotiated was him not allowing his opponents gloves of there liking in some cases. If you wanted the payday though you would agree. Grants, have a power or boxer glove. Reyes, has the reputation as a punchers glove. Everlast, recently seem to be favored less by punchers. Some of the Grants (power) seem to have less cushion in the fist area. I'm not sure if this is less material or a different material. More knowlegable posters can speak on this as well as the older gloves.
its a really interesting topic, on a related note, does anyone know the history of gloves under the queensbury rules? The gloves worn by Dempsey and Johnson etc look tiny were these gloves a regulated weight? what size were they? i read that Louis used to fight in a 4-6oz glove that's scary and it mustve really influenced the defensive options. no one wated to use blocks against a swinging almost mma type glove.
There is so much variation from one brand of glove to the next, even when they are marked the same weight, that I find it amazing two fighters in the same bout are allowed to wear differing brands. Anyone who has ever tried Kleto Reyes gloves will know what I'm talking about. Because they are totally different to Everlast and nearly every other mainstream brand.
Yeah, I agree it's very unsatisfying to forbid an opponent to use a regulation glove. I don't remember the glove issue with Hagler Leonard. Thanks for that.
Interesting point regarding defensive options, I never imagined that gloves would have influenced defense but now that you mentioned it, it makes a lot of sense.
There have been glove and wrap issues raised on so many occasions it's way beyond ridiculous. Probably 1% have an once of truth attached to them.
My understanding is that fatter gloves encouraged more head-punching and 'covering' pillow defense. Bareknuckle and early glove boxing manuals described more wedging-away and parrying-aside of the fist using extended arms further from your own body; and the rear hand low to the solar plexus because that was considered the best target. I think even today the smaller glove would make cover-up defense less high-percentage than when using the fatter pillows.