What To Look For
The key thing to look for in sparring gloves, whether they are for boxing or mixed martial arts, is how well they support and protect your hand. Their purpose is to protect both you and your partner from injury -- the more padding, the less impact energy will travel to your hands and to your partner's body. Fit is also important. Your hands should not move around that much within the glove, and different gloves suit different hand types. The 16 oz Cleto Reyes gloves, for example, are excellent for people with wide hands but not as good for people with narrow hands.
Common Pitfalls
A common pitfall when buying sparring gloves is choosing to buy an off-brand pair because it is cheaper. This is a situation where brand name does matter -- the established brands like Ringside or Grant have a long history of high-quality gloves that offer adequate protection. The off-brand ones do not.
Where To Buy
Boxing gloves are probably not something you are going to be able to try in a store. This means you should buy them online, especially as they are reasonably small and cheaper to ship than, say, a punching bag or a treadmill. You should still try gloves out, though, before you buy them -- go to a boxing gym and ask if you can try their boxing gloves.
Once you've done this, you can buy your boxing gloves from Sports Authority's website or Karate Depot. These are just two online options; shop around to find the best deal.
Cost
As of September 2010, you should expect to spend over $100 for the best sparring gloves. This is partly because sparring gloves tend to be heavier, with more material, and partly because of the point mentioned above regarding brands and quality.
One highly-rated sparring glove is the Rival R2SV, which costs $140 from its website as of September 2010.
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