Things to consider when buying your first Boxing Equipment...

When starting your boxing career you need to consider what equipment you will need.

I started Fit2box Channel with the express purpose of helping people be best informed when it comes to picking the Best Boxing equipment for them, there are so many pieces of equipment out there and the range and standard of these is vast.
There are also many fakes out there and many items of equipment that are not fit for purpose, as well as excellent equipment that is available at affordable prices that you can get your hands on, it's just knowing what to buy.

This guide is to help you get the very best equipment that you can afford to help you in your boxing journey, whether just for fitness or if you wish to take it further as a career.

A Great video to give you an overview of boxing gear and the different levels is this one (the thumbnail shows my Top end Winning gear of the time, I'm not suggesting anyone would start boxing with this level of kit.)

Click here to view my video on all you need to start boxing

You need to consider:

HANDWRAPS

These are essential for protecting your hands, these are to be worn underneath your boxing gloves and should always be put on to prevent hand injuries.
I always look for Mexican hand wraps with some stretch 4.5 metres (180 inch) is my preferred length but you can get 5m, 3.5m, 2.5m and for children's hands 1.5m

Some hand wraps that have no stretch in them (Cotton- sometimes called Herringbone wraps) but I personally DO NOT feel that you can get as good a fit around your fist without some stretch.

There are many different ways to wrap hands, this is my preferred way:

Click here to view my handwrap video on YouTube

GUMSHIELD / MOUTHGUARD

When buying a gumshield you need to buy the best that you can afford to protect your teeth. You can buy cheaper gumshield for under £10 which are boil and bite or you can go expensive and protect your teeth more. Customised mouthguards are available from most dentists and there are several custom mouth guard places that do specific graphics, and pretty much any customisation is now available.

For starting out ,I would avoid the cheap gumshields (£1.99 - £2.99 Boil and Bite cheap ones) and spend between £10 and £20 for a decent one and as you get into the sport you can then progress to a better, more expensive mouthguard .

Buying the best mouthguards you can afford is so important because after all mouthguards do protect your gums, teeth and ensure that you keep your jaw clenched while boxing will protect against fractured/broken jaws.

I personally have my gumshields made by my dentist or by a brand that does custom-made mouthguards (my favorite ever gumshield was made by the Mouthpiece Guy based in America).

Having one made this way gives the gumshield the best fit possible, as your dentist/custom gumshield company will do a mould of your teeth that will be exact and will fit perfectly.

There are even Mouthguards that can fit over Braces.

Boil and bite gumshield's are okay for starting out but I do not feel that you can get as good a fit as a dentist gumshield or a custom fit gumshield. The last thing you want when you are Sparring is to be concerned about your ill fitting gumshield, as this will distract you and can make your breathing more difficult.

So to make sure that your gumshield fits properly, when you open your mouth, your gumshield should stay on the top set of teeth and not drop down.

ALWAYS follow the instructions in the gumshield to the letter as the times for boiling and setting the mouthguard differ from the different brands

Here is a video of me doing a boil and bite gumshield:

Click here to view video on YouTube

Always Take your Gumshield with you for training, even for when you are doing partner drills outside the ring

NEVER Spar without a gumshield, many Times I have seen Boxers "forget their gumshield" when faced with a hard spar, Lol

HEADGUARDS

Do you need a headguard for sparring?

I would fully recommend buying your own headguard for your training. The headguards at your club have probably been used thousands of times by thousands of different people, they will be dirty, sweaty, unhygienic and have other peoples spit and blood in them.

You should invest in your own headguard so you have a headguard that moulds to your head and isn't constantly being stretched by different people's shape and size heads.

There are a few different types of Headguard and generally the more face protection a headguard gives you the less vision you have. Some people don't like headguards but in sparring they can prevent cuts and bruises and even offer some protection if heads come together and collide.

The different types of headguard are as follows:

"Open face headguards" - great vision, no protection for the face but protection on the forehead and sides of face.

"Cheek Headguards" - forehead, plus cheek padding, offers a level of protection for the face but you can see the cheek padding when it is on your head.

"Cheek and chin headguards" - padding forehead, cheeks and chin which gives a more protective headguard than a cheek headguard especially against uppercuts.

"Facesaver or Facebar headguards" - a bar (nylon or aluminum ) across the nose gives maximum protection but reduces the area of vision that the boxer can see, some people cannot get on with the lack of vision.

Here is a video of the different types of headguard described above:

Click here to view video on YouTube

Here is a video to show the best way to fit the different headguards:

Click here to view video on YouTube

Here is a video specific to fitting the different types of Facebar headguards:

Click here to view video on YouTube

GLOVES

There is a wide range of different Boxing Gloves from different manufacturers,

which come in sizes from 4 oz, 6 oz, 8 oz (normally children sizes)

Training gloves normally come in 12 oz, 14 oz, 16 oz, 18 oz up to 20 oz.
Sparring gloves should normally be 14oz or above (at our club we use 16oz to spar in)

Here is a video to help you choose the right training glove for you:

Click here to view video on YouTube

Professional fight gloves are 8oz and 10oz

Amateur fight gloves are 10oz and 12oz (more padded and rounder punch surface)

Here is a video highlighting the differences between Professional fight gloves and Amateur Fight gloves:

Click here to view video on YouTube

With Professional fight gloves they do come in two broad categories:

"Protective" - Foam padded gloves, great for Boxers with fragile hands or Boxers wanting more hand protection.

"Punchers" - Gloves majority filled with horsehair and a thin layer of foam, these are designed to cause damage to the opponent but less protection for the hands.

Here is a video highlighting the two different types:

Click here to view video on YouTube

BOXING BOOTS

Boxing Boots enable you to move around the ring on canvas, whilst your ankles are fully supported.

They should be lightweight with light soles, some training shoes have deep grooves in the soles for grip, Boxing boots are better for the movements in boxing, normal trainers whilst great for running will be 'too Grippy' on the ring canvas (remember you want move freely in the ring and Boxing specific Boots will help)

Here is a video re choosing Boxing Boots:

Click here to view video on YouTube

GROIN GUARDS

Groin guards should be worn for sparring, you never know when a shot might 'go south of the border'

Groin shots hurt and may lead to a serious injury and a groin guard will also protect against shots to the hips and lower stomach.

Get used to wearing a groin guard to spar in, as well as protection a groin guard can offer a smaller body target for your sparring partner, as explained in this video:

Click here to view video on YouTube

BOXING SHORTS

Boxing shorts are great for training in, as well as for fights, as they are designed specifically to allow the correct movement of the Boxer when training or moving around the ring. There are many, many different Boxing shorts out there to choose from, depending on your budget, you could really go to town and get custom shorts made specifically for you or if you prefer a more subtle look, there are many brands that do simple designs to choose from. 'Look like a Boxer - feel like a Boxer!'

I hope that helps give you more information on the equipment you need when Boxing to ensure you get the best experience that you can.

Thanks for watching My Channel

And I will Speak to you soon

Simon