The history of boxing gloves

When and how did this tool come into being in the world's most popular combat sport

Have you ever wondered what boxing would be like without the gloves used by the competitors? A blood bath and a serious hand injury perhaps. However, the history of this ancient sport can tell us that at first people boxed with bare hands, then with bandages, and much later appeared the gloves that we know to this day.

In Ancient Greece around 668 BC, leather bandages were used to protect the athletes participating in the ancient Olympic Games. Over time, people wrapped more and more layers of leather around their hands and placed metal objects between them to deal more serious damage to their opponents. Matches for many years resulted in the refusal or inability of one of the two contestants to continue. The idea of rounds did not appear until the end of the 18th century. Imagine how many serious injuries have occurred under these rules, or rather the lack of them.

In Asia and the Middle East, they used a little more protection and wrapped bandages around their hands more. But boxing there was more like the kickboxing we know today.

But when did gloves actually first appear? The answer to this question is related to the aforementioned introduction of the rounds. Modern boxing gloves date back to 1773 and were invented by Jack Broughton, who is considered by many to be the father of modern boxing. Initially, they were not well received and were only used for training and sparring. The reason is that these gloves were considered not very manly in boxing competitions, but they ended up making the sport more accessible to the upper class, who could train effectively without hurting their hands and their opponents' faces as much.

In Great Britain and later in the United States, boxing brought over by Irish immigrants took place with bare hands, which was the most popular form of fighting at the time. Its difference from a regular street fight is that it still has rules.

The rules regarding gloves were finally changed in 1865. and were published 2 years later in London. They require the use of padded gloves. This is how the foundation of boxing was formed. But in many places bare-handed paint remains a classic. However, the last major prize fight took place in the USA in 1889, when John Sullivan knocked out Jake Kilrane after a 3-hour grueling fight. Sullivan is also the first participant in a boxing match with gloves. This happened in 1892.

Originally, the gloves were much lighter than the 8 and 10 ounce gloves we know today. Originally they were only 2 ounces in weight and were made from dark brown leather and were extremely tight on boxers. Very soon after, however, additional lining of horsehair and cotton was added and the weight increased to 5 ounces. The use of these pads make the gloves larger than what we are used to now.

The televising of boxing also led to the next big change in gloves – they became red in the 1950s to cover up the blood on them. However, the problem then remained related to the size and the materials used. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, horsehair was replaced by special foam. This makes the gloves smaller and more compact while offering the same protection.

Today, the rules state that in a professional boxing match, competitors can wear 8 or 10 ounce gloves depending on the different categories. There are now different gloves for the boxing matches themselves, as well as for the training and sparring that the competitors do.

Of course, there remains debate as to whether the use of gloves is safer for fighters these days, but the theory is that the heavier they are, the less damage they can do to an opponent's hands and face.

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