Amateur boxers are required by the Amateur International Boxing Association to use regulation gloves in competition. The AIBA regulates the weight, color and design of the glove for safety and uniformity. It is possible to purchase gloves that meet these specifications, but most boxers don't buy their own because AIBA regulation gloves are supplied at the fight.
Red or Blue
Amateur boxing gloves approved by the Amateur International Boxing Association are always red or blue. If you are assigned to the blue corner, you are given the blue gloves, and the same goes for the red corner. Since you can't know ahead of time which corner you'll be assigned, you would have to buy two sets of AIBA gloves if you wanted to use your own in competition.
AIBA Boxing Gloves
AIBA boxing gloves also are known as "competition gloves." They can be recognized by the large white area on the punching surface of the glove and the silver AIBA sticker. All punches must be made with the white area of the glove -- if any other part of the glove makes contact, the punch is considered a foul. Amateur competition gloves also are designed to give less mobility to the thumb than professional gloves. This is done to protect the eyes. Some companies sell the exact type of glove authorized by the AIBA and used at events such as the Olympic Games. Even though these gloves would be the approved type for competition, they would not be useful in regular training because sparring is conducted with larger gloves.
Glove Weights
Some amateur boxing regulations specify the use of 10-ounce gloves. Others require different gloves for different weight classes. For instance, amateur boxing matches in Arizona require the use of 10-ounce gloves for fighters weighing 152 pounds or less and 12 ounce gloves for fighters weighing 164 pounds or more. This is because the heavier gloves are more thickly padded to reduce the force of the punch from a heavier fighter.
Training Gloves
Because amateur boxers don't spar or do punching bag workouts with the same gloves used in competition, most amateurs have no need to own an AIBA-sanctioned set of gloves. If you're going to be training as an amateur, you need a pair of gloves for training and sparring. These could be anywhere from 16- to 20-ounce gloves, depending on your size and weight. You can expect to do a lot more sparring than competing, so you need a little extra protection to reduce the punishment you take in training. Training gloves are heavier because they have more padding on the punching surface, protecting both your knuckles and your training partner.
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