What size gloves for Muay Thai?

Short answer: buy 16oz. If you're only getting one pair and you plan to spar, 16oz is accepted at every UK gym and every interclub in the country. Everything below is the detail behind that.

Glove weight isn't hand size

This trips up nearly everyone. The ounce rating on a boxing glove measures how much padding is in it — not how big your hand is. A 16oz glove has more foam around the knuckle than a 12oz glove, so it spreads impact over a wider area and hits your partner softer.

That's why heavier gloves are the ones required for sparring. They're not protecting you, they're protecting the person opposite you. Gloves come in one broad hand size with the weight varying — you don't order them like shoes.

The sizes, and what each is for

• 16oz — the sparring standard. Required by most UK gyms for partner work and accepted at every interclub. If you buy one pair, buy this one.
• 14oz — fine for pads and bags, and accepted for sparring at some gyms if you're on the lighter side (roughly under 60kg). A few interclubs specify 14oz for smaller weight classes.
• 12oz — pads and bag work only. Don't expect to be allowed to spar in them.
• 10oz and below — competition gloves and kids' gloves. Not training gloves for an adult.

Do you need two pairs?

Eventually, not now. The two-pair setup — lighter gloves for pads and bag, 16oz for sparring — is genuinely nicer once you're training three or four times a week, because heavy gloves get tiring on long pad rounds and sweaty gloves never dry between sessions.

But it's a second-year problem. Start with one pair of 16oz, use them for everything, and buy a lighter pair when you actually feel the need.

Junior sizing

Kids' gloves are usually 6oz, 8oz or 10oz depending on age and size — a rough guide is 6oz for under-8s, 8oz for 8–12, and 10oz for older juniors moving toward adult training. Sizing varies a lot between brands, so ask the coach before buying. If your child is competing at an interclub, check the event listing too; some hosts specify glove weights for junior bouts.

What to look for beyond the weight

• Velcro, not laces. You need to get them on and off yourself between rounds.
• A wide wrist strap. Thin straps let the wrist roll, which is how people hurt themselves on the bag.
• Leather or decent PU. The £15 mystery-brand pairs go soft at the knuckle within months and start to smell far sooner.
• Muay Thai cut if you can. Slightly more flexible in the hand than a pure boxing glove, which helps with clinch and catching kicks. Not essential to start.

Recommended picks

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• 16oz gloves £25–50 — the default buy. Venum, RDX and Blitz all do entry pairs that survive a couple of years of regular training.
• 14oz gloves £25–45 — worth it if you're a lighter fighter or you want a dedicated pad pair.
• Junior gloves — 8oz £15–30 — check with the coach on sizing first.
• Hand wraps — 4.5m £5–10 — buy these at the same time. Gloves without wraps is how wrists get tweaked.