When it comes to safety in boxing, your wrist might not be the first on the list of things that you think need protecting. In truth though, if you aren’t protecting your wrist then you’re going to leave yourself very vulnerable to injury.
Thankfully it’s not something you should have to worry about, as long as you’re using the right equipment. If you’re looking for the best boxing gloves for wrist support, then all boxing gloves will provide some level of wrist support, but naturally some are much better than others at providing this. There are also some boxing gloves that are naturally a bit bigger on purpose, so to provide more support for those that need it.
Unfortunately for some, they have fragile hands where the wrist and hand bones can easily be broken. These type of boxers need more support than others. One of the most notorious examples was with Floyd Mayweather, who consistently had problems with his hands. Not being a power puncher, he was able to still win all of his fights, but that still didn’t stop him from having problems.
There are many bones in your wrist, and they aren’t very big either. It doesn’t take a lot to break them or even damage the tissue around them. If you throw a heavy punch, then all of that power has to be transferred down your hand and through your wrist, so the support around it has to be good.
Understanding How To Protect Your Wrist
The first step to protecting your wrist isn’t with boxing gloves, but with the wraps that you put around your hands and wrist. If you don’t do that then not even the best gloves in the world are going to save you from the pain. If you’ve not wrapped your hands before, the process can be tricky and time-consuming, but absolutely vital.
There are a few ways that you can wrap your hands, but the two most common are using gauze and tape and the other is re-usable cloth. For the vast majority of the time you will be using re-usable cloth as it is less costly and less time consuming. This involves buying boxing wraps and placing them around your wrist, over your hand and in between your knuckles. Once you have done that then you are ready to box, with the right gloves of course.
Wraps add support to your wrist and quite simply keep everything where it should be. Your hands will obviously go through a tremendous about of force while you are boxing and your bones need to be kept from slipping and wraps allow this not to happen. If you box without wraps then you will soon see why everyone wears them, they are one of the fundamentals of boxing equipment.
Re-useable cloth isn’t as protective and secure as using gauze and tape, but it’s more than good enough for sparring and bag work. In a fight you will most likely want to use the tape and gauze method which can be even trickier, which is why you will see a dedicated member of a boxer’s team wrap them in all the big fights.
As you evolve through the boxing process you will become more and more comfortable with the best way to wrap your hands and using them to for various boxing activities. As said though, there is no point in buying the best gloves with the best wrist support if you don’t have wraps on first. Gloves with wrist support aren’t a shortcut to the protection you need.
What Other Precautions Should You Consider?
Glove size also plays a big difference in the support that you need. While it may be tempting to use smaller gloves when you’re sparring or generally in the gym, it’s a bad idea to use anything but large gloves. Smaller gloves dramatically increase the chance of your hands or wrist getting hurt, and taking that risk when you’re hitting a bag would just be reckless.
The generally accepted common weight for a training boxing glove would be 16oz which is double the weight of what a professional welterweight would fight with. That may sound like a lot, but 16oz gloves will give you that protection while not reducing your hand speed too much. They will also help your hand speed as when you put on lighter gloves your arms will be used to a heavier weight, and therefore feel faster.
While the 16oz is a good rule, it also depends on your size and how many gloves you are willing to buy. If you’re a large heavyweight then you will probably be comfortable with training in 20oz gloves which will give you that extra fitness. If you’re a much smaller fighter then reducing it down to 140z gloves might be better. Anything below that and you start to increase the risk of injury a bit too much. For regular shops, then often sell gloves on the size of your hands, so if you have bigger hands then you’ll have to buy a bigger glove.
The larger glove size will simply give you more padding and more support. The impact on your hands will be less and therefore less of that impact is being felt into your wrist. You can still work on your technique and fitness without worrying about ruining your hands that you might do if you were wearing smaller gloves.
Clearly you might be okay with smaller gloves, but it’s not a risk worth taking. Even if you avoid any injury with using smaller gloves, then your hands will still become a lot sorer very quickly and it might stop you from being able to attend a session. When selecting what gloves to use in fighting or training, it’s also important to consider the size, and not just the brand and the protection they offer.
Which Gloves Should You Use?
There are plenty of great boxing gloves on the market, and the improvements over the years have made quality boxing equipment available for everyone. Here we look at some of the best boxing gloves for wrist support on the market, which will give you peace of mind when you’re in the gym training.
RDX Ego Boxing Gloves
Punching bags are tough and hard pieces of equipment, which have to take a lot of punishment. Due to this, your boxing gloves have to be up to the task in order to cope and that’s exactly what you get with the EDX gloves. They are made from Maya Hide leather meaning that you know you’re getting a durable substance that won’t break easily.
What sets these gloves apart though is the sheer amount of protection they give you, all the way through from the small 8oz gloves to a 16oz glove size. They have a foam padding over the knuckles which will help absorb any punch and will help spread the force of any blow and dampen it before it gets to your wrist. Not only that, however, but they also have a padded block over the wrist joint with a gel lining between the padding.
A lot of the wrist support that comes with a glove though will be given from the strapping that goes over the wrist, this not only provides extra padding from the outside, but helps secure the wrist with a tight fasten. With the RDX Ego glove, it comes with an extra-long strap which will give your wrist all the support it’ll ever need. It gives you that confidence of knowing your wrist is always well protected.
While not your number one focus, these gloves also look great too and come in a great range of different colours. While getting the best equipment is always essential, we all want to look good, don’t we? With these gloves there is no sacrifice. They are extremely well-made, offer exceptional protection and look great.
Key Features
- Well-made and long-lasting
- Immense amount of wrist support
- Can be used for any boxing activity
- Great aesthetics and colour choice
Everlast Wrist Wrap Heavy Bag Gloves
As said before, the most ideal scenario is to have different sets of gloves for different activities. Larger ones work different muscles groups while protecting your hands, and smaller can be great for pad work and shadowboxing sessions. That added to the ones that you actually are going to fight in. These Everlast gloves take a slightly different approach by being a smaller glove that you can actually use on a heavy bag.
Anyone who has watched boxing for more than five minutes has heard of Everlast, and they are one of the most trusted names in the industry for a reason. They make high quality products at great prices, including these gloves. These are incredible for training that they save you a lot of time but still allow you to have the protection that you need. They are great for boxing, but also can be used for other fighting styles as well.
They are fingerless, but separate your fingers individually unlike normal boxing gloves. Part of the reason that you have to wear wraps with normal boxing gloves is because there is no separation between your fingers and thumb, but this glove does that for you, they slip on and provide an incredible level of protection for their size.
They have extremely good wrist support with extra padding around the wrist in order to prevent injury. Often with boxing gloves, it can be frustrating when you have to complete a simple task such as your music player stopping, tying your laces or taking a drink. With these gloves there is no need to take them off meaning you can get back to your punching as quickly as possible. Everlast have rethought boxing training, and have come up with a glove that can provide excellent protection with minimal fuss.
Key Features
- Easy to use
- Don’t require hand wraps
- Can’t be used for sparring or fights
- Great wrist support for heavy bags
Valour Strike Gloves
These gloves though, are excellent. I won’t pretend to know the technology behind them, but the gel-infused foam that they use gives you protection on another level. If you injure your wrists when you’re using these gloves then it’s only because you have no idea how to throw a punch. Even off-center punches won’t have you gritting your teeth as some other boxing gloves can.
The wrist strap that they use is wide, very wide. It’s 3-inches and still manages to produce a glove that is completely comfortable to wear. They have a breathable mesh across the palm too which only adds to the comfort. The size range comes from 4oz children’s sizes up to the sparring standard of 16oz.
Like with the RDX gloves, they are also aesthetically pleasing so not only will your hands feel good, but you will look good too. This level of glove at this level of quality would usually be considered too expensive for many, but they are easily affordable and are an essential buy. For anyone looking for the best boxing gloves for wrist support at a great price, it’s hard to look any further than these Valour Strike gloves.
Key Features
- Fantastic protection for the wrist, and all your hand
- Wide wrist strap
- Well-made, quality product
- Can be used for any boxing activity
Protect Yourself At All Times
You’ll have heard it from a boxing referee many times “protect yourself at all times” when he’s telling boxers to stay alert throughout the whole fight. That saying though, applies to if you’re working a heavy bag by yourself, working in the gym or sparring an opponent. You have to make sure that you’re protecting your body, and especially your hands.
It can be easy to get carried away, and it can also be tempting to take shortcuts. Those small bones in your hands and wrist though need constant protection. That means wearing the appropriate gloves in training with good wraps, and that means wearing the best gloves you can during a fight. If you get the best boxing gloves for wrist support, then you aren’t taking any chances and leaving yourself open to pointless injury.
