Is the lighter lb gloves the more damage inflicted?

Question

?is the lighter lb gloves the more damage inflicted?

Answer 1

Two balls are hurling at you. You are going to be hit by one of them, which one is your choice. Both are about the same size, and traveling at the same speed. But ball A weighs heavier than ball B, which ball would you rather be hit with?

Answer 2

To some extent yes.  Less weight translates to less padding and so a fighter feels the shock, impact, and concussion of each blow more the lighter the glove is.  That is the the reason for what are sometimes called powder puff gloves which are 16-20 ounce gloves that fighters wear during sparring sessions.  These gloves are also used a lot in what I call the fluff and puff boxing and kick-boxing gyms so that members don't easily hurt one another.

Answer 3

Sort of, yes.  The lighter the glove, the less padding.  Padding spreads out the area of the impact to a larger area, so the force is the same, but the area is larger, reducing the damage.

Think of it like this - hitting a person with a baseball bat in the ribs would break their ribs.   Hitting a person with a baseball bat with a pillow over their ribs would knock them down, but wouldn't break anything because the pad spreads out the area of impact.

Gloves are mainly to protect the fighter's hands from being injured when they punch, but the larger the glove the less damage each hit does - that's one reason why boxing matches last so much longer than MMA matches.  A body breaks down faster being hit by 4 oz gloves, unprotected shins and feet, elbows, etc.

Boxing gloves don't eliminate damage - watch any 12 round pro fight - the fighters' faces look swollen and cut by the end of the match.  But the larger gloves - even 12 oz ones - diminish the damage of each blow.

Hope that helps.