I've said it elsewhere, I refuse to hit the bags with my Winning gloves. I've used them three times on the bags and 2 of those times were when I first got them and tried to break them in. I don't even like the way they feel on the bags, but they are awesome for sparring.
Granted, some of this is how hard your bags are. You definitely need more hand protection with harder bags.
I'm 43. I was a kickboxer/muay thai guy most of my training life, but these days I can't kick the bags anymore because of all the damage I've done to my knees. Every year brings new and interesting issues with my body. I don't know how my glove weight choices will change over the next few years. I'm over 200, yet I wouldn't consider an old-timer's division amateur bout unless I was under 200. I still tend to get 16oz gloves. I mean, my heaviest pair are a pair of Reyes hybrid L, which weigh 20oz dry (get to 22~24oz when I'm sweating) - but I don't wear them often because I find that punching a lot with them tends to hurt my upper back. I don't see myself going as high as 18 ounces (labeled weight) regularly for the time being. Mexican gloves typically weigh 1 to 2 ounces over their advertised weight any way, though a lot of them use fairly thin latex padding - so I am still getting some training benefits of added weight, but with a lot of crunch. I don't know how many more years I'll be able to use those types of gloves.
For sparring, Winning 16s are lighter, and thinner, but more protective than most Mexican 16s for sure. My #2 sparring glove is a custom pair of Sabas Super Soft velcro 16 ounce that have a ton of padding (more than any other Sabas SS glove I've seen). I don't spar that often and while I haven't done much boxing sparring recently, before switching from muay thai to boxing I was never considered a hard puncher. I haven't had too many complaints or caused any bloody noses. Bigger gloves sure would make defense easier though.
Lately, I've been pleasantly surprised by my recent Reyes 16oz velcro glove pickup. I don't know if they're a narrow pair, or if they sized the purple color for women, but they're low profile, while still thickly padded and heavy (labeled 16, but weigh 18 and 19 ounces). My home bag is very hard (Pro Boxing Equipment 150lb 5' bag) and I can blast it with these gloves no problem. I really think this pair shows Reyes moving to multi-layer padding. The outer shell of the padding is still somewhat stiff, it will take maybe another month to really loosen up. The inner padding feels like memory foam. End result is a little like Winning with a more firm outer shell. Doesn't quite have the crunch of my other Mexican gloves, so it's a far cry from traditional Mexican latex, but they are nice to use. I don't see myself using any other glove for a while, possibly even sparring with them when the outer shell softens up. I see my knuckles holding up better with these than with a more traditional glove. In fact, I hurt my knuckle recently doing a home improvement project and haven't even noticed it when working out.
Hope we're both still boxing well beyond our 60s.
