Experts in the United States, working alongside the WBC, have spent the last three years on this research which is set to be formally presented at the WBC Convention in December.
“This program has developed a tracking system for the number of rounds that a single glove is used in fights. The limit has been at a maximum of 30 rounds. The glove must have inside labels (5 x 6), and the boxing commission must mark the labels which correspond to the rounds used after each fight. For example if the fight lasted nine rounds, then two labels will be marked. Once the five labels are marked, that glove will not be permitted to be used in a fight and will be used only in gymnasiums,” confirmed the WBC.
Boxing gloves lose their protective casing over knuckles after many rounds of use and the WBC hope these new measures will protect fighters from the dangers of using old gloves.
Many of the fights at the top level only use gloves for a single fight as gloves are either cut off, sold off for charity or given away on fight night, although these clear markings will improve safety measures moving forward.
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