The History of Boxing Gloves, and Its Impact on Society

The history of boxing gloves, and its impact on society.

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Boxing is known to the world as one of the most violent sport ever created. It involves fast and powerful hits as well as lots of blood. Boxing has been a sport which I have kept close to heart since I was 13 years old when I joined the boxing club as part of my secondary school co-curricular activity. Our modern-day version of the boxing glove has made society more acceptable towards this beautiful sport and a great money-making opportunity as it is of high entertainment value. A modern-day version of the Roman’s gladiator matches. The idea of padding has helped the sport evolve from a brutal knuckle fight into a sophisticated sport of professional entertainment and hobby. Let’s look at some problems the old design of the boxing glove was making and solving.

Boxing first begun 3000 years ago, when the ancient Greek’s used leather strips to protect their hands from the hits they’ll be delivering to their opponents. However, it was then modified by the Romans into a gladiator match by adding metal studs and spikes to the leather strips making the sport deadly (Daily, n.d.). Due to its brutal reputation, it was made illegal in Roman cities during 30 B.C. The ban progressed along into the Western civilisation for approximately 1500 years. Boxing eventually returned in the late 1600s. However, there were still no rules and bare-knuckle boxing continued to take place. Despite the modern boxing gloves being invented by Jack Broughton in the early 1700s, it was only used as a training gear and not for the actual matches (Irish, 2002). This resulted in, once again, many fatal fights and ended up being banned in many parts around the world during the 1800s. The end of bare-knuckle boxing begun in 1866 when John Graham Chambers in London released the Queensbury Rules which required the use of boxing gloves which were padded properly for boxing matches (Kim, 2015). By the 20th century, these rules were used worldwide, and bare-knuckled boxing diminished for good. Boxing gloves that were legal to use had to meet certain requirements on the design, materials, and technology under the Queensbury Rules. [pic 2]

Jack Broughton’s invention of the modern boxing glove was padded with either lamb’s wool or horse’s hair (Irish, 2002). However, those gloves were skintight and weighted only two ounces. Which meant that they didn’t provide enough protection for both the boxers. Boxing gloves are categorised by weight. The heavier the weight, the more protection would be provided. This is not only due to extra padding, but it helps reduce the boxer’s swinging speed (Russell, 2007). Today’s boxing gloves ranges from 8 to 20 ounces, varying amongst the different body weight categories. Every part of the glove serves a purpose. The fingers are covered to prevent the fingers from scratching or gouging out the eyes of the opponent. The cuff is meant to be wrapped around the wrists preventing the wrists from buckling.