You all may have noticed that TITLE Boxing/MMA had a sale on the Rival Pro gloves last week. I grabbed a pair, and here's what I say. First off, information from Rival's website and TITLE for those who don't know.
Rival Pro Fight Gloves
1.0 mm full grain all-leather
Over 30 mm (1,75”) of layered foam padding
Ultra-comfortable inner lining
Color: Black, Red.
We designed what professional fighters believe are the best Professional Fight Gloves in the market today! Ultra sleek and anatomically accurate design is designed and crafted to the demands of today's athletes. A supple 1.0 mm cover of full grain leather with specially cut layers of pliable, yet protective high and low density foam to create the pinnacle in fighting gloves. Complete with satin nylon inner lining for the best fight glove available.
I purchased the red 10 oz, 10x size, as I'm a heavyweight. For those who asked (I remember reading it in a thread) that doesn't mean they're 10XL, they're basically just large size gloves.
I'd like to start by saying this is my first pair of actual fight gloves, though I have used both Twins and Cletos previously. I have a few pairs of bag gloves, training gloves, and so on, so I will compare to those.
Per usual, TITLE's shipping was basically next day: I ordered from our own Wes W. Friday, they got in about 6 p.m. Monday. Opening the box, I immediately noticed the color quality of the gloves. Compared to the Twins especially, I think the quality of leather on these gloves provides for a really great color finish. The Twins reminded me of the old Century karate stuff I used as a kid: very glossy and shitty looking. These Rivals look brilliant, and fancy. By fancy, I mean professional, I suppose.
The second thing I noticed, sadly, were the two defects on the left hand glove. They're not big, and I'm positive Wes will take care of me, still, it's sad to open your new toy and find a piece missing. There's some 'soft' stitching at the base of the cuff, and a fairly thoroughly chewed end on the lace; neither of which are huge problems, but I wan my new gear to come in perfect.
So, next, I slip 'em on and have my girlfriend lace them up. After hand wraps, these things are tough to slip on, which is exactly what I want to have in these kinds of gloves. With the laces nice and tight, I can tell you these gloves will never move on me. I've had problems with this on some of the TITLE Classic gloves in the past, so I'm really pleased with the Rivals. Putting them on, I found that my fingertips grabbed the lining pretty easily, and pulled it out of place, as boxing gloves are wont to do. Putting them on since, I've tucked my fingertips a little more carefully, and have not had the problem.
One of my favorite things to do with fight-style gloves is bag work, so I took these to my heavy bag and went two rounds. First, I found their comfort to be very good, next, I felt the fist I could make was perfect and really let me hit with my knuckles the right way. The grip-bar is just the right size, and the thumb piece feels great. I felt like the wrist support was right on, even throwing my heaviest punches.
I noticed, after the bag work, that there was a single red mark on my bag, which I assumed was from a grazing hook. I didn't notice any difference on the gloves, so it could have been there from something else.
Overall: wicked gloves. I can't wait to use them in competition. If I was to give them points, I'd say 9/10. The lining could be attached a little more, and the overall fit and finish could be just a pinch tighter. Honestly though, I love them. I'm going to try and pick up some Rival Bag gloves next. Expect a review of the RB20 once I get them.
Pictures:
Pictures of the issues:
Loose thread
Frayed lace
Finish - not so much a problem, but could have been fixed with an extra stitch line.
So, if you like 'em, get 'em. Everything I've used from Rival has been awesome, and these did not disappoint.
Squiddy
