9 Best Boxing Gloves You Can Buy (Budget, Premium)

If you’re training in any striking martial arts, getting the proper protection for your hands will be essential.

A good boxing glove has appropriate protection for the small bones and ligaments of the hand, as well as adequate support around the wrists.

You also want to think about the purpose of your gloves. While they can technically all be used for multiple uses, not all boxing gloves are created equal for every use case.

These are my top three picks that are the best of the best for different budgets and training needs:

In this article, I’m pulling together all my separate roundups to give you the best boxing gloves selection to choose from.

MMA Hive’s top choice boxing gloves

First, I’ve collected my top picks of training boxing gloves for different needs.

You can use this to shortcut your way to the right choice for your budget or training style.

• Best Overall: Hayabusa T3
• Best Budget: Ringside Apex Flash
• Best Premium: Winning Pro Grade
• Best for Beginners: Hayabusa T3 (ideal) or Hayabusa S4 (cheaper)
• Best for Women: Hayabusa T3 or Cleto Reyes (premium)
• Best for Heavy Bag: Hayabusa T3 or Fairtex BGV9 (also great)
• Best for Big Hands: Ring to Cage Sparring Gloves
• Best for Small Hands: Venum Elite or Hayabusa T3
• Best for Sparring: Fairtex BGV1
• Best for Kids: Venum Kids Elite or Hayabusa T3 Kids

I’ve gathered up all the existing roundups I’ve written here on MMA Hive and picked out the very best to make your decision simple.

If you want to know more about each, keep scrolling.

Best Overall: Hayabusa T3

The one glove that appeared most often and consistently ranked highly in our boxing glove reviews is the Hayabusa T3 Boxing Gloves.

They’ve appeared high up in the list of best options for wrist support, women, and the heavy bag. The Hayabusa brand has been hitting it out of the park with its glove design.

I’ve already reviewed the Marvel Deadpool version of these gloves, which are excellent.

The efforts to improve the glove technology for increased stability around the wrists and protection for hands are noticeable and very much appreciated by boxing or fighting students across the globe.

That’s why I’ve picked it as the best overall option.

They’re not the cheapest gloves out there, but they are outstanding value for what you can expect to pay for high-quality leather gloves. And in particular, they use Vylar engineered leather (whatever that means).

The Hayabusa T3 has two interlocking wrist straps, which apply comfortable but precise stability around your wrist and hand. This is a critical feature for reducing injuries.

And the 5-foam padding layers create a near-unrivaled level of protection around the punching surface area of the knuckles, which is again more great protectiveness.

These gloves also look good with a futuristic segmented design and have color options suitable for any personality.

Use them on the bags, the pads, and even in sparring. It’s all going to work out nicely, just pick the right size.

They are even a good choice as Muay Thai gloves and sparring boxing gloves.

Best Budget: Ringside Apex Flash

Ringside is a reputable brand around the sporting world, offering various boxing and fight-worthy products.

What’s usually best about them is their affordability.

The Apex Flash gloves are the best budget boxing gloves that often appear in reviews I’ve done, as it’s difficult to argue with just how cheap they are for the quality you’re getting!

These gloves feature a mesh palm that gives plenty of ventilation and is made from synthetic leather, which helps keep the cost down and still provides good durability.

These could be a decent option for anyone if you want a cheap or extra pair for specific uses.

Remember that you’re not getting the ultimate protection or versatility you could with more premium and real leather boxing gloves.

But they certainly enable you to have extra gloves for a different use-case, like sparring when you need a 16 or 18 oz pair to punch your teammates with.

If you take care of them and keep them clean then they will endure plenty of sparring sessions ahead.

Best Premium: Winning Training Gloves

If you have the money for it, the Winning training gloves are often considered perfection.

Many boxing professionals use Winning gloves because they are manufactured to perfection using Japanese techniques.

While they are pro-grade gloves, this MS600B model still has a hook-and-loop velcro strapping that makes it easier to get them on and off.

If you’re looking for the true elite boxer experience, you can always upgrade to a lace-ups version and experience the best glove fit and level of wrist stability.

They have an eye-watering price tag, likely due to the supreme materials and time-consuming stitching process.

But they are trusted for a very good reason. If you can afford these gloves, I’d say go for it!

Best For Beginners: Hayabusa T3 or Hayabusa S4

I’ve already independently reviewed a selection of the best beginner boxing gloves, where you can find several options.

But the Hayabusa T3 and S4 options come out on top.

And the difference between the two largely comes down to what you can afford.

I think the T3 is one of the best gloves on the market right now with all its features, but the S4 is specifically designed to support beginner’s wrists and hands at a cheaper price point.

If you have the extra money spare to get the T3, then that’s what you should do.

But if you need to save a few bucks, perhaps for a second pair for sparring, I’d understand going for the S4 instead.

You’d get excellent wrist support and stability with either option.

T3 goes several layers deeper, though, with multi-layered padding, the Dual-X strapping system, and the Fusion Splinting, which all add up for the best safety.

The S4 has great padding, especially around the knuckles, giving a lot of shock absorption to your hands as you learn.

Best For Women: Hayabusa T3 or Cleto Reyes

It’s a close call between the Hayabusa T3 and the Cleto Reyes hook-and-loop gloves for women’s choice.

The T3 is an amazing choice for almost any training purpose, but the style might not suit everyone.

I picked out the Cleto Reyes as another option fitting the best women’s boxing glove as they are on a professional level of quality and support, with an attractive style that some women might prefer.

But they are premium and will cost a pretty penny.

Cleto Reyes gloves are one of the boxing glove brands used by professional fighters.

You can expect pro boxing fighters to use them regularly during training camps.

If you want to look good while training, I think the Cleto Reyes steals it with their color options.

Best For Heavy Bag: Hayabusa T3 or Fairtex BGV9

It was a little trickier to separate the two options of the best gloves for the heavy bag since Hayabusa T3 are incredible but the Fairtex BGV9 are exceptional for bag training.

If you’re planning to do some serious work on the bag, you need to think about your wrist support, knuckle padding, and the durability of the glove.

Training on the heavy bags is what wears down the materials on your glove the most, so a glove that can handle this and last longer is ideal.

Hitting the heavy bag is usually where you throw your biggest shots, practicing them repeatedly until your limbs give out.

So you also need a glove that doesn’t need to be replaced too often, and I think that the BGV9 might just sway it for that.

You also need to be concerned about the amount of sponginess over the knuckles and impact absorption. The BGV9’s glove padding is absolutely stellar and designed for heavy hits on the bag.

Best For Big Hands: Ring to Cage Sparring Gloves

Similar to considerations for the heavy bag, some fighters are tall, heavier than most, or just have powerful shots.

So when picking boxing gloves for big hands, it’s essential to keep all these in mind.

I’m sure the Ring to Cage Sparring Gloves is ultimately the ideal option for fighters with huge hands or who hit really heavy.

They’re one of the few glove options that offer heavier gloves that offer sizes up to 24 oz (which is massive).

So if you’re genuinely super heavyweight, the Ring to Cage is the best option.

Otherwise, if you are slightly more regular and can drop bombs, then, again, the Hayabusa T3 or Fairtex BGV9 has large glove sizes to suit you, too.

Best for Small Hands: Venum Elite or Hayabusa T3

If you have little fists, then these are the two options I’d recommend as the best boxing gloves for small hands.

The Venum Elite is a great affordable glove that offers a lot in its padding, decent strapping for support, fits snugly, and comes in a wide range of sizes like 8 oz, 10 oz, and 12 oz.

Whereas the Hayabusa T3 is almost always a solid option when getting a great fit is essential alongside the best wrist support on the market.

If you have weaker or slimmer wrists to go along with your hand size, then the T3 is one of the guaranteed great options for you. Its smallest size is 10 oz, but that is still suitable for many petite folks.

Best For Sparring: Fairtex BGV1

Fairtex is a reputable Muay Thai brand, as all their products are manufactured in Thailand, where many of the best fight gear is made.

I’ve selected the BGV1 as the best boxing gloves for sparring because they have a high degree of padding, particularly over the knuckles and the back of the hand, making them ideal for sponging the punches you throw and the blocks you make.

There’s a slight bend in the wrist with most Fairtex gloves, particularly this one, which makes it fantastic for catching kicks, clinching, and generally making it multi-purpose across different sparring styles.

But if you’re not likely to be doing any Muay Thai or kickboxing sparring, then I’d jump straight back to my top overall pick in the Hayabusa T3 to maintain good protection levels throughout your sessions.

And considering there are sizes ranging from as small as 4 oz all the way up to 16 oz, plus the many color options, these gloves make for an excellent secondary pair to use for sparring that won’t break the bank.

Best For Kids: Venum Kids Elite or Hayabusa T3 Kids

If you’re looking for the best boxing gloves for kids, then I’ve selected two options from my independent research.

The first is the Venum Kids Elite because it offers the best balance between style/color options that kids will love, sizing options, and padding to keep their little hands safer, packaged at an unbeatable price considering the quality.

But the Hayabusa T3 Kids version steams ahead as one of the ultimate glove options for children because of its superior technology (like with the Hayabusa T3 adult version) in wrist support, stability, and overall protection.

So if you have the money to spend, I’d go with the T3 for maximum protection. It’s a bit of a big pill to swallow when you realize the price isn’t far off the adult-sized version, though!

Runner-ups

In the many glove reviews I’ve done for MMA Hive, a few boxing gloves come up in the discussion regularly and are also worth mentioning.

These gloves might not have become a top pick, but they have a lot of quality and might be worth considering. Let’s get into those:

• Venum Elite Boxing Gloves offer excellent quality and hand protection while being reasonably priced. They come in stylish variations of black, white/gold, black/pink, and various others.
• Hayabusa T3 Kanpeki Boxing Gloves are the standard T3’s slightly more expensive brother. The two versions are almost identical. The Kanpeki gloves offer drum-dyed smooth quality leather with subtle and simple color options. You’ll still get the same stellar wrist support with either choice.
• RDX Boxing Gloves are often considered because they are a very cheap glove option endorsed by Tony Ferguson. They use faux leather, which keeps the costs down but offers decent padding. Most beginners are pleased with these, but I probably wouldn’t trust the support for my wrists on lots of heavy bag use.

Common questions for picking boxing gloves

Let’s answer a few of the most common questions about picking the right boxing glove.

What is the best brand for boxing gloves?

The best brands for boxing gloves are typically considered to be Winning, Cleto Reyes, Grant, and Hayabusa.

Hayabusa offers primarily suitable and affordable options for the general public.

In contrast, Winning, Cleto Reyes, and Grant gloves are more premium and used by professional boxers.

Should I get 14 oz or 16 oz gloves?

Fighters between 151-170 lbs should use 14 oz gloves for bag work but use 16 oz gloves for sparring.

Fighters between 171-195 lbs should use 16 oz gloves for both bag work and sparring.

Are heavier boxing gloves safer?

Heavier boxing gloves are typically safer for the wearer because they’ll have more padding.

It’s also safer for your opponent if you are sparring, which is why a minimum of 16 oz boxing gloves should be used for it.

A heavier boxing glove should be used by physically heavier fighters to get the proper protection for their own hands and their opponent.

What gloves are best for sparring?

Most reputable gyms require fighters to wear 16 oz gloves or heavier during sparring.

Depending on your weight, you should usually consider moving a size up when picking sparring gloves.

The added weight of the glove usually translates to more padding and protection, which you need to ensure your opponent’s safety.

Cleto Reyes’s gloves are great for sparring, but so are many others.

Final say on the best boxing gloves

In summary, the top boxing gloves to choose from are the ones specific to your training needs.

The Hayabusa T3 is great for almost every fighter’s needs, just pick the right size and you’ve got a solid glove.

Beginners could also consider the Hayabusa S4 training gloves for their affordability and wrist support.

Women should go for the Cleto Reyes for the ultimate experience or the Hayabusa T3 for something more affordable.

If you’re planning to do tons of work on the heavy bag, then you want to prioritize padding and hand protection, so the Fairtex BGV9 shines.

And if you’re a fighter with big hands, you can’t do much better than the Ring to Cage sparring gloves, which will give the necessary padding for heavy hitters on the bag or sparring — remember to size up.

What to read next

Now you’ve seen which are some of the best boxing glove brands and models to choose from, these next articles might help complete your gear set:

• Best Headgear Selection For MMA
• Best MMA Custom Mouth Guard Review
• Top Fitness Trackers For Boxing