Best products from r/Boxing

The real key to finding good gloves for cheap is that boxing gear is randomly marked down, I at least have gotten some ringside equipment on amazon for half price or less these last couple weeks. (imf pro style 8oz for $28 marked down from $67 and ringside headgear marked down to $11 from $67) Maybe you missed some end of the year overstock sales but really year round there are good options if you're on a budget. There is no reason you should have to buy crap equipment. Your only problem will be identifying what is quality or not so its good you're asking.

These are excellent 8oz for bagwork/mittwork. Really good padding, great wrist support but a tight fit. For me these are my favorite gloves I own and are kinda the gold standard to which I shop for other gloves now.
http://www.amazon.com/Ringside-IMF-Fight-Gloves-8-Ounce/dp/B00B01AHKG/ref=sr_1_94?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1420382962&sr=1-94&keywords=ringside+gloves

I don't own any RDX gloves but I was looking into getting these, can't beat that price.
http://rdxsports.com/product/authentic-rdx-leather-red-white-fight-boxing-gloves.html

same gloves on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/RDX-Leather-Boxing-Gloves-Grappling/dp/B00F4A9K8Y/ref=sr_1_16?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1419914007&sr=1-16

Good brand, great reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/Training-Stand-Up-Boxing-Gloves-Marine/dp/B00BKPFJU0/ref=sr_1_77?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1420382962&sr=1-77&keywords=ringside+gloves

There are loads of options out there don't think that you have to buy a glove that costs X ammount. There are great quality gloves (and bad gloves) at all price points. General rule of thumb for me is that ringside is a safe bet but like any other major brand you're paying more for the brand. Stay away from Everlast gloves or any other glove company that makes gloves for casual boxers, you increase the chance of getting some toy feeling gloves. Also once you learn what gloves you like/wtb don't be afraid to search ebay for used.

Lastly if you are a first time buyer, don't be afraid of getting lace up gloves, they have better wrist support which both protects your wrist and feels better. You might need to get used to tying the laces or get help to tie them sometimes but its worth it, 9/10 hook and loop/velcrow gloves dont feel very good on the wrist IMO.

EDIT: Saw the gloves you linked. Don't get those, there are far better, those are like some of the worst you can get. In boxing gloves equipment its actually the brands you don't know that have higher quality per dollar generally. Read reviews and look for people that seem to know boxing/boxing gear.

EDIT2: I forgot to mention I own those gloves you linked as well so I know for a fact they don't feel great. (I've got the 12oz versions wrist feels flimsy and padding is stiff... they just feel cheap. not necessarily absolute garbage, I still use them sometimes and they're not the worst for the price but still they feel like half the glove you can get for just a little bit more. I feel like the $30-50 range is the sweet spot if you know what gloves to look for.

I've got a number of books I can suggest.

This one's a great history of the sport in the bare-knuckle era, 19th century sporting culture, and the transition to modern boxing.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Manly-Art-Bare-Knuckle-Fighting/dp/0801476089

Probably the best boxing novel ever written. I can't believe this isn't a movie.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Professional-W-c-Heinz/dp/0306810581

The book that got me into the sport when I sat down to read it at a Borders Books when I was 16. An awesome overview of the history of each weight class with over 400 photos and illustrations.
http://www.amazon.com/AN-Illustrated-History-Of-Boxing/dp/0806522011

An excellent anthology of fiction and newspaper articles.
http://www.amazon.com/At-Fights-American-Writers-Boxing/dp/1598532057

The guy spends a little too much time bashing other martial arts, but it's an excellent read about how boxing is useful in a street fight and old school bare knuckle techniques.
http://www.amazon.com/Championship-Streetfighting-Boxing-Martial-Art/dp/0873649346

A superb series of observations from a woman who has spent her life watching boxing. One of the more literary attempts at explaining the primal appeal of a boxing match.
http://www.amazon.com/On-Boxing-Joyce-Carol-Oates/dp/0060874503

I'm not home and don't have access to my library right now, but let me know if you want a few more. I'd say that any one of those is a great gift for a boxing enthusiast. /u/Choccybizzle is right, Four Kings is awesome, and /u/zombiezs suggestion for The Sweet Science is a good one as well. There's a lot of boxing books out there, but you know your friend so you'll know which of those will appeal to him the most.

I read "Sorcery at Caesar's" by (I think) Marantz and loved it. Highly recommended. It's a really detailed look at the fight between Leonard and Hagler, but it also details both their careers in parallel as well.

Also, "The Harder They Fall" by Budd Schulberg is a fiction book, but its pretty heavily inspired by the career of Primo Carnera. It's an excellent book if you can find it.

Thomas Hauser usually has a book each year that is kinda of a "collected works" for the year. Hauser is one of my favorite boxing writers, so, although there will likely be more modern information, and less history, it's still well worth a read.

I also read a tome about Freddie Welsh, "Occupation: Prizefighter," who was a very interesting character in the early 1900s, and apparently he is apparently who F. Scott Fitzgerald based "The Great Gatsby" on. It explains it further in the book.

IMO, this is a must read for boxing fans... https://www.amazon.com/At-Fights-American-Writers-Boxing/dp/1598532057

> Named a best book of 2011 by the San Francisco Chronicle, At the Fights is a gritty and glittering anthology of the very best writing about boxing. Here are Jack London on the immortal Jack Johnson; Richard Wright on Joe Louis’s historic victory over Max Schmeling; A. J. Liebling’s brilliantly comic portrait of a manager who really identifies with his fighter; Jimmy Cannon on Archie Moore, the greatest fighter of the 1950s; James Baldwin and Gay Talese on Floyd Patterson’s epic fight with Sonny Liston; George Plimpton on Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X; Norman Mailer on the Rumble in the Jungle; Mark Kram on the Thrilla in Manila; Pete Hamill on legendary trainer and manager Cus D’Amato; Mark Kriegel on Oscar De La Hoya; and David Remnick and Joyce Carol Oates on Mike Tyson. National Book Award–winning novelist Colum McCann (Let the Great World Spin) offers a foreword and, in a new preface, John Schulian pays tribute to his co-editor, George Kimball, who lost his battle with cancer in 2011.

So, it's a compilation of stories throughout time from various newspapers, magazines, and snippets from full length books. Features some of the biggest moments in boxing history with some very accomplished writers. It's a great read for both a journalists and boxing fans. I really love how some of them take you back and put you in the moment ringside... or some of the behind the scenes aspects of the fights and fighters/trainers/promoters.

This was an amazing fight. I was pretty young as well, but at the time I was a huge Leonard fan, just a young kid and victim to the hype. Its funny I watched this with my dad and his buddies I remember almost being moved to tears when Ray won, my mom was. Meanwhile you have these hard working fishing boat guys from my dad's work just livid when Hagler won. Now 25 years removed, older and grittier myself, I re-watch this fight and I'm cheering for Hagler even though I know he loses. Strange how emotional and polarizing this fight was.

Four Kings is supposed to be an amazing book about the era: http://www.amazon.com/Four-Kings-Leonard-Hagler-Hearns/dp/1590131622

Is it worth the read? I recommend Tunney: Boxing's Brainiest Champ and His Upset of the Great Jack Dempsey. It's a great book and from what I learned about Greb from it, I am utterly fascinated by the man. Beat Tunney as a middleweight if I call correctly. Man was a beast and fought with one eye for a while!

I just this afternoon finished Butler's Kindle Single interview with Mike Tyson, and it's a really great read.

Butler also published a book earlier this year about Guillermo Rigondeaux's journey from Cuba to the U.S., and I also highly recommend reading it.


P.S. Mr. Connor, I enjoy the podcasts, keep up the good work!

These $40 everlast gloves

protect my hands better than these $120 rivals

I'd recommend these everlast to anyone on a budget, i've been using them for over 2 years, left them out in the rain numerous times, and despite some tear on the knuckle area, are still completely fine. Also unlike the cheaper model, they are very comfortable and the wrist strap never comes loose.

It's probably a testament to how fucked I am for my exams, and also to my love of boxing and pugilism when I can actually identify Tom Molineaux, Tom Cribb, Daniel Mendoza, and Henry Pearce in those pictures.

I upvoted because the content is dear to me, but it looks like it was written by someone who probably practices some other martial art or sport, and who has difficulties with the English language.

For those of you who are actually curious, you must consider that many of the bouts under the pre-Queensbury Rules (notably the London Prize Ring rules) could go for over 100 rounds. That is people were fighting for a couple of hours at a time.

Could you imagine current day boxers doing that, even with all the advances in how we train our athletes, and our knowledge of diet and nutrition? How the hell is this possible, you ask? The commonly accepted theories are that the guard/stance was like that because they could punch without damaging their knuckles as much (and even then, they'd probably tone down their blows a little. Again, to protect their hands). This idea also supports why they could last that much longer in a bout. You've also got to the consider that you were given a maximum 38 seconds of rest after a down (as a down signified the end of the round). Cool shit, no?

We don't know as much as we'd like about these fights, even with the works of Pierce Egan to go by. If you want to learn even more about a sport that effectively spans over three thousand years, I recommend Boxing: A Cultural History, by Kasia Boddy, but be warned: it's not a light read by any means.

This piece is by Carlo Rotella, who is one of my favorite boxing writers out there. His book of boxing essays, "Cut Time," is absolutely excellent and some of the best writing on our sport I've ever read.

Got this from A Cuban Boxer's Journey: Guillermo Rigondeaux, from Castro's Traitor to American Champion, which is a pretty good book, but should probably be called My Journey to Write a Book on Rigondeaux as it focuses more on the author's attempts to interview and work with Rigondeaux than it does on Rigondeaux's experiences or fights. It does give some great insight into cuban boxing history too though.

Too be honest though, the author is kind of socially/emotionally ignorant in many of the things he says to people/boxers, like before Rigondeaux's fight against Donaire saying something along the lines of, "The only one who wants to see this fight more than me is your biggest fan and son in Cuba". The son Rigondeaux will probably never see again… things like this will leave you facepalming…

I know Rigo isn't exactly flavour of the month these days but I recommend this book if anyone is interested in his story https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ID8G848/?coliid=II51JOF27F87B&colid=Q3IUEPQY8EVW&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Neither. Get these. Use two for each hand. Switch them out every month.

Revgear Gauze Hand Wraps (Pack of 12) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XT83B6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_8Idgvb0HG02GJ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XT83B6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_8Idgvb0HG02GJ

At the Fights is a fantastic anthology of 20th century sportswriting, highly recommended

If you want to read some fiction, FX Toole was a writer and cutman who wrote the short story Million Dollar Baby was based on. He has a collection of short stories and some of those have to do with being a cutman. Great book. https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Baby-Stories-Corner/dp/B000BLNPAA

I've read most of this book about Guillermo Rigondeaux and enjoyed it quite a bit.

I really enjoyed On Boxing by Joyce Carol Oates. It's short, but it packs a punch, for lack of a better word.

Just wanted to give the boxing community over here a heads up on the book I discussed during an AMA which is available for pre-order now on Cuba today via some of the highest profile Cuban athletes on and off the island. You can pick up the book from amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Cuban-Boxers-Journey-Traitor-Champion-ebook/dp/B00ID8G848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392141907&sr=8-1&keywords=brin-jonathan+butler

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