10 Best Boxing Gloves Reviewed – UPDATED 2021

I’ve gone through great lengths to bring this list of the best boxing gloves on the market for you to try in 2021. My team has tested and reviewed countless gloves, analyzed video reviews, compared notes from professional boxers, MMA and Muay Thai fighters, and asked for their feedback (you’ll find poll results a little later in this article).

Without further ado, lets dive in.

The Latest Poll

Top 10 Boxing Gloves List

Keep in mind that this list is based on other people’s reviews, ratings, votes and personal preferences. And what fit for some might not fit as well for others. Read on to learn why we’ve chosen the following gloves.

1. Winning Boxing Gloves

Hands down, the best boxing gloves of 2021 on the market  are Winning Boxing Gloves.

The holy grail of boxing gloves, Winning develops what I (and many others) consider some of the finest gloves in the world. Built out of 100% leather with the classic design, it’s easy to see why these gloves are loved by old and young boxers alike.

Though highly expensive with a price of around $300, everyone who has ever put a pair of these on will tell you that they’re worth every penny and deserve to rank #1 when compared to any other pair of gloves.

Superior padding, lightweight and ergonomic design protect your hands when hitting heavy, while slip resistance and wrist support make Winning gloves blow any other pair of training gloves out of the water.

So if you have the money to spend, you can’t go wrong with a pair of Winning boxing gloves. Read our full review here >>

2. Cleto Reyes Training Gloves

Coming in at number two on our list are the Cleto Reyes Training Gloves.

Cleto Reyes is one of the most respected names in boxing, developing some of the highest quality gloves available, including Cleto Reyes Hybrid, which is hard to find these days. When you’re training for a competition, you want to make sure you’re using gloves that are designed with your striking needs in mind.

The Cleto Reyes are #2 on our top ten boxing glove list because they have so many excellent features. With an intelligently designed thumb and wrist support system that is made of 100% leather, you’re sure to get a superior training experience with these gloves. Also, the Cleto Reyes training gloves come with waterproof nylon padding to help keep your hands dry.

These gloves are very comfortable and also feature a wrap around hook enclosure that doesn’t ever seem to slip. When it comes to comfort and performance, I tend to agree with everyone else that these gloves deserved to be #2 on our top 10 boxing gloves list.

Our Cleto Reyes Hybrid Review>>

Our Cleto Reyes Training Review>>

3. Ring to Cage C-17

Fighters have placed the Ring to Cage C17 at #3 on our list. And I can understand why.

R2C was very successful in making a more affordable Winning alternative. The overall performance and design truly do rival Winning all in all for half the price.

It’s usually difficult to find a pair of gloves that work perfectly for the bag and sparring. Bag gloves tend to provide much less padding and sparring gloves tend to be too big to practice on the canvas. However, the R2C C17 gloves feel great for both.

These are also the second favorite gloves of our other team member/reviewer – Lobo. You can read his full review here >>

4. Hayabusa T3 Boxing Glove

The T3 boxing gloves are boxers’ favorite pair sold by Hayabusa. Here’s why:

First of all, the wrist has an exceptional amount of support from the patented Duel-X wrist close. These gloves also give you the best an ergonomic alignment to help prevent injury and make the most of every punch. They’re well balanced and also feature a 5-layer foam padding complex, 4x splinting, and an antimicrobial lining, which helps keep your hands dry.

These training gloves are not bulky at all, and the surface material is extremely durable. Although they are great, “all around gloves,”, due to their compact padding I would recommend to use them for pads or bag training. Read the full review >>

5. Twins Special BGVL-3 Gloves

Our next pair of gloves on the list: Twins Special Thai Style Gloves. Twins is one of the leading manufacturers of Muay Thai boxing gear and sports equipment. I love the Velcro straps on these gloves, which don’t slip the way some straps tend to. The padding is strong and durable, allowing for devastating punches in the ring. These were chosen by many users as the best Thai style boxing glove. Read the full review >>

6. Boon Boxing Gloves

Next in line is another great pair of hand made, muay thai gloves from Boon. The design of these gloves also makes them great for not just Muay Thai, but also for western boxing, MMA, and other combat sports.

Another feature I really like is how cool they stay. Each glove features 7 holes directly under the grip bar of the palm. Their wrist protection is something that puts these gloves above others. A very large velcro strap extends almost all the way down your forearm when you put these gloves on, locking your fist and forearms in place.

Boon are also one of favorite if not the most favorite gloves chosen by our team member/reviewer – Jhullian Donawa. You can read his full review here >>

7. Fairtex BGV1 Boxing Gloves

Fighters have chosen the Fairtex BGV1 boxing gloves for 7th place in our top ten boxing gloves list, and here’s why:

Fairtex – another Muay Thai brand – has been making premium boxing gloves for over 40 years now, and you can tell by the quality of their gloves that they know what they’re doing.

The padding is durable but not too firm, allowing you just enough room to transfer the power of your punch into your target, while protecting your hands. Another benefit of these gloves is the shape.

Other boxing gloves make it difficult to utilize the clinch effectively, but since these are the Muay Thai boxing gloves, they are designed to maximize your options in this position. Read the full review >>

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8. Rival RS2V High Performance Sparring Gloves

Although Rival High Performance Sparring Gloves can be used for bag training, they are more oriented for sparring.

One unique feature that makes them stand out is Ergo hook and loop double-straps. It’s said that boxers either “Love it or hate it”, depending on their size of forearms. With that being said, Rival makes a great pair of sparring gloves that provide excellent coverage without coming loose on your hands, no matter how many rounds you go.

One of the reasons why Rival RS2V made in our top 10 list is their 1.6 inches of nice soft padding, which makes them one of the best gloves for sparring. Read the full review >>

9. TOP King Super Star Air Gloves

Next in line is a nice pair of gloves from TOP King. TOP King Super Star Air Gloves are exceptional when it comes to protection and quality. One of the best features of these sparring gloves are the multi-layered molded shock absorbent inner foam padding which excellently protects your knuckles, fingers, and thumb from punishment.

These gloves really shine as a sparring glove because of their heavily padded knuckle, upper hand region and wrist region for blocking kicks in Muay Thai. Read the full review >>.

10. Ringside Pro Style IMF Tech Boxing Gloves

Finishing out our list, fighters chosen a nice pair of gloves from Ringside. The IMF Tech Pro is a great offering from Ringside, one of the premium brands in boxing gloves. The striking surface is very compact, and lightweight so you can really whip your punches.

They are great as training gloves but more designed to be used as sparring gloves. The Quick Tie Technology is not only a functional innovation by Ringside but it also adds a very great addition to the overall aesthetics.

Every ounce of these Ringside IMF Tech Boxing Gloves is constructed in leather, which gives them an “authentic” feel that reminds us of working the canvas in vintage boxing gyms. Read the full review >>

FAQ

Which brand of boxing gloves is the best?

The best brand, recognized by both, pros and amateurs, is Winning. Their only downside is that their products are also the most expensive. More budget-friendly brands making quality boxing gloves are: Cleto Reyes, Ring to Cage, Rival, Hayabusa, Twins, Boon, Fairtex, and TOP King.

Which boxing gloves are best for bag work?

The best boxing gloves for bag work are Haybusa T3, Ring to Cage C-17 (Japanese Style), and Title Gel World Bag gloves. Or if budget allows Winning is always the top choice.

What is the best beginner boxing glove?

The best beginner glove that won’t break your budget and makes them enjoyable in all types of training, while improving your technique, are boxing gloves such as: Venum Challanger 2.0, Venum Elite boxing gloves, TITLE Boxing Pro Style, or Everlast Pro style. However, once you start medium-hard sparring, we recommend investing in a better pair, such as those listed in this article.

What boxing gloves do professionals use?

Professionals are usually using the gloves of brands they are sponsored by, since it’s what they contract requires. In a boxing match, you most often would often see fighters wearing Winning, Grant, Cleto Reyes, Ringside, Rival, and Everlast gloves.

What size boxing glove should I buy?

Glove sizes are measured in ounces (Oz). What size of a glove to wear is determined by two factors: your weight and type of training you intend them to use. It’s always better to consult with your coach, but this is what fighters generally wear: weighting less than 120lbs (55 kg) – 10-12 oz gloves for training, 14oz for sparring; weighting 121-150lbs (55-68kg) – 12-14oz for training, 16 for sparring; weighing more than 151lbs (68kg) – 14-16oz for training, 16-18oz gloves for sparring.

What boxing gloves are the best for women?

The best boxing gloves for women are gloves made by Cleto Reyes and Winning, because those gloves come with a glove compartment that is not too wide, as well as having tight wrist support, providing the best security for smaller hands. We have an depth article on this topic, called: 28 Female Boxers Reveal Their Favorite Boxing Gloves for Women.

Thank you

HUGE thanks to everyone who contributed to this ‘Best Boxing Gloves’ list! I know that there will be some disagreement with this list, and it’s understandable as everyone has different preferences, but we’ve tried to make it as accurate as possible. There are still a lot of gloves that needs to be reviewed and that’s what we’re constantly working on.

And as soon as we review anything that deserves to be on this list, we will add it. If you have any recommendations, feel free to let us know in the comment section. If you found it helpful, please take a moment to share this post with your friends.

Find out how this list has changed since 2015 in our video below:

Resources

1. Sherdog Forum. What are your favorite boxing gloves?

2. Reddit. /r/amateur_boxing. What are your favorite boxing gloves? [link]

3. Sherdog Forum. Your top 3 glove brands you have owned  [link]

4. Reddit. /r/amateur_boxing. If you could ONLY own ANY 2 pairs of boxing gloves for 2021, what would that be? [link]