UNION Fighting Leather Boxing Gloves Review

UNION Fighting Boxing Gloves 100% cowhide leather (10oz) Review

unionfighting.co.uk

Brand

UNION Fighting is the trademark brand of TheGymGeek. The brand state that their equipment is designed in Northern Thailand under the scrutiny of Muay Thai and boxing champions – designed by engineers from some of the leading glove companies.

About the gloves

We first found out about UNION Fighting when a commenter a little while back and tested out a pair of their synthetic boxing gloves, which were incredible value for what you get.

UNION Fighting decided they’d like to send us a pair of their Leather Boxing Gloves to review. While the price is a little higher, the quality has had a boost too. We were curious to try them out.

The UNION Fighting Leather Boxing Gloves come in two styles. One has a boxing style cuff, and the other has a Muay Thai style cuff. We’ve been testing out the regular boxing cuff. If you’re interested in the Muay Thai version then our review of the synthetic gloves is worth a read too. They’re available in all of the standard sizes from 10oz to 16oz

We’ve reviewed the 10oz version, so haven’t been able to try them out in sparring, but have tested them for pad and bag work. Check out our guide on choosing the right glove size if you’re not sure what size you need.

Visuals

These gloves have quite a simple design, which puts the focus more onto the colours of the glove than any ‘flashy’ visuals. There are some alternative versions available if that’s what you’re looking for. The version I’ve been testing out is the Red glove, which is finished with white trim and detailing.

In terms of graphics, the main elements are the ‘UNION Fighting’ logo patch on the wrist, and a symbol on the back of the hand which seems to represent a knot – a nice representation of a union. Underneath that we have the glove weight printed on the back of the hand. It’s a slightly unusual choice, but doesn’t really hurt the design at all.

Materials/Craftsmanship

UNION Fighting state that the gloves are hand made with the finest Guinean cowhide leather with 8.5mm thickness. I have to applaud the brand for being so specific with the thickness of their leather. The thickness can contribute significantly to glove durability and most brands do not share that sort of information.

The leather feels pretty smooth to the touch and is pulled tight over the padding. The folds at the side of the glove all look very neat.

The inner lining on these gloves is definitely one of my favourite parts though. When you put your hand inside the glove you notice that the lining is particularly soft and smooth. It’s the sort of lining that you usually only see on far more expensive ‘premium’ gloves, so it’s inclusion here is pretty cool. With this sort of lining you do need to make sure you air your gloves out well after use, but you should be doing that anyway.

The padding on the UNION Fighting Leather Boxing Gloves seems a little thicker across the knuckles than on the back of the hand. This sort of padding lends itself more to boxing, where there’s less of a need to block/defend elbows and kicks.

UNION state that the gloves are best suited to Sparring and heavy bag work, thanks to the high density multi-layer foam core. As mentioned previously, we haven’t used the gloves for sparring, but can confirm that the padding has a nice combination of softness and firmness which gives a really nice, solid feedback when striking.

When looking at the general construction, there are subtle indicators that the glove is a little better put together than the Synthetic versions. The stitching on our pair seems mostly neat. There are very few loose threads, and the stitching seems to be very neat and sharp with straight lines.

Comfort/use

Thanks to the soft lining, these gloves are pretty easy to slip on. Despite our version only being 10oz, the gloves don’t feel too small, so fit rather comfortably. I found the thumb compartment felt a little on the short side for me, but not in a way that made it uncomfortable.

The wrist strap seems to hold pretty well and has a decent connection that shouldn’t lose it’s grip any time soon. Comparing these gloves side-by-side with UNION’s synthetic equivalent, I can say that this pair feels notably more secure.

The biggest upgrade in my opinion is that these gloves have a moderately sized breathable mesh panel across the palm. Not only does it help keep the gloves cooler when training, but it also helps the gloves to properly air out, so you can keep bad smells at bay a little longer.

I didn’t feel like these gloves needed too much breaking in. I would call the padding a fairly medium density. However, considering I’ve been testing a 10oz pair, there’s still a fair amount of padding. In my opinion it makes these gloves great for bag work, where even on the lighter weight gloves you still have a good amount of protection.

Cost

UNION Fighting like to produce low-cost equipment and pack as much quality in as possible. These gloves come in at £40, which I feel is a pretty good deal for what you get. It’s a little more expensive than the synthetic equivalent, but the quality seems a little better all round. At this price they’re still an in the right price range for beginners, and they have a great quality for the price tag.

Looking to buy these?

unionfighting.co.uk