Boxing

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I agree with Ironbull and Aussi.
If you wear headgear it has to fit tight otherwise it moves around and is not useful .
I prefer to box without .
Headgear protect you from cuts on the eyebrows ... not more.
Headgear is useful if you spar in preparation to an upcoming fight.
If you have freshly healed cuts they will splitt open in a fight easely.

I felt the same way until I tried Winning Headgear. It runs small and is expensive but it is unbelievably light and fits nice and snug. Before the Winning, I had tried just about everything out there and nothing stayed snug on my head. Prior to that I had been using a set of Tuf-Gear for about 10 years. It had a synthetic suede on the inside that really stuck well. Unfortunately they went out of business a long time ago.

+100! I always wondered why Winning was so damn expensive; then I ponied up the cash and got one. Simply the lightest, best made, best fitting and most comfortable headgear I’ve ever worn! Bear in mind that comfort is a relative term regarding headgear; most trainers are woefully ignorant about properly sizing, fitting and putting on headgear for boxers. Properly fit headgear does not expose the eyebrows nor does it droop below them...and it does not budge when grabbed with 2 hands & twisted. Can’t tell you how many amateur fights I’ve seen where boxers have been wearing improperly fitting headgear. An opponent trying to adjust loose headgear in the ring is an easy target.

Correct. I’ve seen too many matches where the ref has to help a fighter readjust the headgear because it slips or a punch knocks it out of its fit.

Thanks. Expensive but hopefully worth the extra

Sounds good flexatlanta, might check Winning Headgear out.

I'm with ya Ironbull.
If I put on a headguard, it either gets too loose and starts shifting around during the fight, causing a distraction and potentially even blocking vision, or it will be fitted too tight, causing my head to feel like it's being boiled in a cauldron. Peripheral vision is also restricted, which means it's harder to see hooks coming at me. Also the headgear increases the target area of my head. A straight punch that I normally slip bare-headed with, say, a centimeter or a half-inch to spare, will impact on the headgear, shifting its position on my head or otherwise imparting kinetic energy on me that I could do without.
I occasionally wear headgear if my sparring partner insists we both do, or for gym "smokers", but vastly prefer to rely on trained defense - clean evasion or solid blocking - and I actually feel safer without the distraction of a blinkering, ill-fitting, impossibly hot and uncomfortable leather helmet on my head.
However, that's just me. There are plenty of excellent recreational boxers who wear headguards for totally valid reasons.

Thank you. I totally agree about slipping and the small movements - trained defence as you succinctly put it - that you make. I'm not even sure that headguards block enough of the impact to make a difference to what is happening inside your skull and your eyeballs

I rode and raced motorbikes and I would never have ridden without a high quality helmet but the risk there was having your head slammed against asphalt at 100mph+ .

There are savages who get into the ring for the pleasure of legally killing and maiming if they can. I expect my club and the amateur boxing body that regulates any fights I sign up for to ensure that I am not faced with one and that the referee manages the match appropriately (I guess it is for this reason that I am cautious about private MF meets) and if I have confidence in that sporting environment then headgear is a real distractin

Better to err on the side of caution re private MF boxing meets. Feel free to message me any time if you want to vet a potential opponent from my profile list.

Thank you, that's much appreciated

ya thats it gum shields hahaha / and you answered your own question !

I hate them. I can't see, they make sweat run into my eyes and it feels claustrophobic. If you're going to wrap yourself up in padding to that extent it hardly feels like boxing. Gumshields and a bit of vaseline and a sensible opponent/referee.

Or am I deluded?

I do agree, but I also have found that some headgears work better than others. Title has the best for Masters, IMO. Better fit and vision field. Main problem with Ringside’s is that it tend to slip if it is not adjusted properly. I’ve seen several matches where the fight has to be stopped to adjust the headgear. I personally like to box without a headgear, but it is better to wear it in certain instances.

Thanks for that. I'll keep Title in mind when next shopping online for headgear.

Appreciate your response. Always good to get your perspective on boxing—particularly Masters Boxing.