Professional boxers rely on several different pieces of safety equipment in order to ensure that they leave the boxing ring with the least amount of injuries.
One of the most essential pieces of equipment known to boxers is hand wraps. But you may be wondering, “Why do boxers wrap their hands?”
Why Do Boxers Wrap Their Hands?
Boxers primarily wrap their hands in order to ensure that their hands, a boxer’s fighting tool, are protected. With the amount of force that boxers impose on their hands when throwing a blow, you can be sure that without hand wraps, those hands will crumble.
People can familiarize themselves with a few essential things a boxer uses for the most important safety equipment.
These include the necessity of hand wraps, what do they usually wrap their hands with, if hand wraps make boxers punch harder, and recommendations of the best hand wrap in the market. Keep reading to find all of this and more.
Are Hand Wraps Necessary for Boxing?
Hand wraps are considered to be a necessity in boxing as it provides several functions to the fighter. The two primary functions are injury prevention and comfort.
In professional boxing, a boxer’s hands dictate the success and the fighter’s earnings in the sport. One of the main things is to prevent an injury.
For example, when a boxer executes a punch, he has to clench his fist. When he does so, numerous bones in the hand collectively form a solid and sturdier surface on the first to deliver a punch.
Now the issue is, if you do not clench your fists properly using hand wraps, the risk of causing injuries on your hand is pretty high. These injuries occur on the hand and the wrist and may include:
- Twist
- Sprain
- Damage tendons
- Injured ligaments
- Broken bones
With proper hand wraps, a boxer significantly reduces potential injuries on their hands and wrists as the wraps further tighten a boxer’s fist when throwing a punch.
It is more compact, dense, and tight. Further, the hand wraps apply additional padding across the knuckles, as well as adding wrist support, which helps the alignment of a boxer’s hand and wrist.
Now, aside from preventing injuries on the hands and wrist, hand wraps also provide comfortability to the boxers. When boxers go round after round, it is imperative that their hands are as comfortable.
High-quality hand wraps provide just enough stretch that naturally “molds” onto the boxer’s hands. Additionally, some manufacturers make hand wraps that are breathable, which increases comfort for the boxer.
Some hand wraps out there, however, are made out of materials that are too thick or tough, which may cause discomfort and abrasions.
What Do Boxers Use to Wrap Their Hands?
Now you know that hand wraps are necessary for boxing or the fighter could get hand injuries, let’s move on to what boxers use to wrap their hands.
Virtually every gym out there, whether it’d be boxing gyms, Muay Thai, or MMA, the vast majority of the fighters and practitioners out there use cotton hand wraps. However, some people out there, most notably professional fighters, would instead wrap their hands with tape and gauze.
Usually, a second person, such as the boxer’s trainer, needs to help the boxer to wrap it in their hands. A boxer’s coach would spend several minutes before training sessions or fights, wrapping the fighter’s hands with gauze and tape.
A coach would usually apply numerous layers of gauze around the fighter’s wrists and hands. This helps to tighten up the boxer’s hands.
Cotton hand wraps are always available in the majority of striking style gyms. Additionally, these gyms, as well as shops, sell hand wraps in a variety of colors as well as lengths.
Cotton hand wraps are perfect as people can wash them immediately after use, dry them super quick, and re-use them again for the next boxing class they have.
Some also provide different thicknesses. The thicker the hand wraps are, the more protection it provides. However, it may cause more discomfort as it is not as soft as other types.
Additionally, the length of hand wraps is also different. The difference is that longer hand wraps are usually purposed for boxers with bigger hands as well as to provide more protection.
Do Hand Wraps Make You Punch Harder?
On the contrary to popular belief that hand wraps make a boxer punch harder, it really doesn’t.
Hand wraps do not provide any sort of benefits that help a boxer punch harder. However, they do provide more padding and support that will make boxers punch really hard without hurting themselves by cushioning the fists on hard blows.
Best Hand Wraps for Boxers?
There are top hand wrap manufacturers out there that provide top-of-the-line hand wraps for boxers, Muay Thai fighters, as well as MMA fighters. What fighters will look for are two things, which are protection and comfortability.
Below are the three mentioned-worthy hand wraps in the market:
Ringside Mexican-Style Hand Wraps
The Ringside Mexican-Style Hand Wraps are considered one of the most popular brands of hand wraps out there. Many practitioners and fighters alike would go straight in purchasing the 10-pack Ringside hand wraps.
This is essentially a great way to ensure that you always have enough hand wraps around, even if you throw them in the laundry basket on a daily basis.
The Ringside wraps are called Mexican-style. This means that the materials these hand wraps are made out of are more flexible than most traditional boxing wraps out there. Furthermore, Mexican-style hand wraps are known for their comfort as well.
The Ringside Hand wraps essentially have a thumb loop and a loop closure to ensure a tighter fit. If you purchase the 10 pack, then you’ll get ten different colors as well as a hand wrap wash bag to clean them.
Sanabul Elastic Boxing Wraps
The Sanabul Elastic Professional Boxing wraps is another popular hand wrap choice. One of the reasons that many boxers choose to buy the Sanabul Elastic Boxing wraps is the breathable and comfortable high-quality material these wraps are made out of.
The Sanabul Elastic Boxing wraps help reduce moisture and sweat build-up in your hands due to their breathable design.
Rather than the traditional cotton that most hand wraps are made out of, the Sanabul Elastics are made out of a stretchable polyester blend. The Sanabul Elastic boxing wraps come in six different colors to choose from.
Whether they are pro boxers or just practitioners, many people stated that the material is also significantly less irritating than traditional cotton wraps.
Most wraps are breathable but too thin, which provides less protection. Sanabul does both. It provides both comforts and does not disappoint in hand and wrist support as well.
Fairtex Hand Wraps
A little bit out of the traditional boxing brands, Fairtex is the leading Muay Thai brand and can be found in the majority of gyms worldwide, whether it would be a boxing gym or a Muay Thai gym.
This is because products manufactured by Fairtex are top-of-the-line and are made to last for a very long time.
Fairtex’s Hand Wraps are considered the best of the best. It provides both optimum comforts as well as maximum protection. Fairtex’s hand wraps are made out of elastic cotton, which stretches and molds well into a boxer’s hand as well as wrist.
Fairtex’s hand wraps always pride themselves in comfort. There hasn’t been a single professional fighter out there that has complained about Fairtex’s hand wraps. They are also known to be long-lasting, comfortable, and have a thumb hook for secure wrapping.
Conclusion
It is truly essential that boxers protect their hands in order to prevent any injuries. As mentioned before, a boxer’s hands are his most important tool.
Without it, a boxer is rendered useless. By wrapping a boxer’s hand correctly and with high-quality hand wraps, you can be sure that a boxer’s hands, as well as his wrists, are well protected.
Interested in Boxing? Check Out My Recommendations
| Looking For Gear To Use When You Train? |
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| If you are interested in training Boxing, here is some of the gear I recommend: Best Mouth Guard Best Gloves Best Headgear Best Hand Wraps |
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