Review: Beaulieu 16oz Training Gloves

[shihtzu]

Sorry you didn't get some lace up Gold Conlon guys. Awesome gloves. Regret I sold them.
But I like their classic gloves too. Sentimentally bought a pair of 10 oz. for bag and pads recently.

 

[billboxing]

Bought these gloves from Bill Beaulieu on ebay (billboxing15 is his uername there; his email is [email protected]) who some of you may already be familiar with. Bill was good friends with Dan Mosby of Flores and together they learnt their craft from Mr. Al Zimmer, the owner of Spartan in Brooklyn. Recently he has begun releasing modern foam gloves made in Pakistan. I don't know if he still has this model of glove available or not as his latest batch looks very much different, but an ebay user called robyn1977 is selling what looks like a velcro version and a version with a straight cuff.

They were $120 with free worldwide shipping.

Quality & Craftmanship

My first impressions of the glove were extremely positive. The cowhide leather felt soft and high end with a fairly glossy look and doesn't take long to break in. The double stitching was also excellent and not that far off from what you might expect with higher priced gloves like Reyes and Grant.

Inside the glove the nylon lining is comfortable and seems to breathe fairly well but is quite thin and feels a little cheaper than the rest of materials used. At this stage I can't really comment on its durability.

There were also no inconsistencies between the left and right hand gloves which speaks highly of the craftmanship involved.

Hand Compartment

For my hands these gloves are very comfortable. The hand compartment is more narrow than in some other 16oz gloves, I'd say similar to that of Fairtex's professional boxing gloves (BGL3, BGL7 etc) so if you have fatter hands they may take some time to break in. They will accomodate long fingers fairly easily as well. The thumb placement feels natural and the grip bar is positioned well.

Performance & Protection

These gloves are big, longer even than Cleto Reyes 16oz. They are much more narrow than Reyes and end up being somewhat top heavy as a result. This isn't necessarily a positive or a negative, just something to consider. They are probably better suited to sparring than bagwork because of it. Using them on the bags initially I felt like there was almost a bounce to them when throwing my lead hook and my shoulder was taking too much force over time. I think this was possibly because of their shape slightly changing the angle of contact from what i'm used to with gloves that are less well rounded, and now I'm only using them for sparring and padwork with no complaints on my end.

The foam padding is a very thick, more on the soft side and offers great hand protection and definitely enough for your sparring partner as well.

The wrist support is okay, being lace-up it's never really going to be bad. There is quite a lot of padding on the cuff which would help if you were blocking shots there and with the triple cuff and laced properly they provide decent support. I do think the padding should be stiffer along the wrist as in my opinion it offers too much flexibility. Not a big deal, just it's something that can be improved upon though if you have weak wrists it could be a deal breaker.


Summary


Overall Score: 9/10

These gloves are high quality as you should expect from Bill Boxing and are worth the price if you're looking for good sparring gloves or have knuckle problems.

I was going to do a breakdown of the pros and cons but really there are no cons that are particularly noteworthy. No gloves are perfect and for example, maybe if you wanted something with the absolute best wrist protection you might look into Casanovas instead, or if you wanted something in which you can make a really tight fist with a flat striking surface then Reyes might be perfect for you, but the same could even be said for something like Winning but that doesn't stop them from being great gloves. I remember one review came up on here giving Cleto Reyes 6/10 or something similar, complaining about the knuckle protection, but I don't think anyone knowledgeable with weak hands would want to pick up a pair anyway because that's not what those gloves are about.

Not every pair of gloves will be right for everyone is what I'm trying to say. Everything can be improved upon and whilst the quality isn't quite as good as Reyes or Grant (not tried Winning) I do think it's up there so that's why I scored it 9/10.

Pictures:

Thanks for your writeup, but again, let me clarify.Dan Mosby and I were good friends for years and I admired greatly his talent as a glove maker "Old School "hair filled training gloves. The California glove. He learned the trade from his uncle RAY FLORES , referee, and San Francisco glove maker. All his gloves were used in the Cow Palace bouts and even those of Sugar "Ray" Robinson and Gene Fullmer, etc. in Uthah.. Both my wife and I learned the art of glove making and other equipment items from Mr.Al Zimmer, the now late and past owner of Spartan Boxing Equipmen, that was once featured monthly in Ring Magazine. Today we have a new line of equipment, made with my specs and sold witht eh motto "More 4 less". we rival both Reyes an Grant in quality materials used and quality workmanship. We're currently on ebay under BEAULIEU boxing equipment. We're featuring 16 oz. training gloves, but can provide anything you need, plus custom gear.

 

[Minowafanatic]

whoops, sorry, for some reason I knew that about Dan Mosby but must have had a mental hiccup when writing it! edited the OP

 

[billboxing]

We have a whole new line of boxing equipment and new spec training gloves, colors, combos and other items coming soon. We also take custom orders. Write me at [email protected] or visit ebay and look for BEAULIEU training gloves. We appreciate your kind words and thanks to you that know me (Billboxing) and know how much quality gloves and the abilityto provide top quality "more 4 less" . We'll never claim that the big guys are no good, just that we can rival them in quality and workmanship for less. It's a labor of love, as many know of me and my effort to give back is sincere. Bill.

 

[Minowafanatic]

Both my wife and I learned the art of glove making and other equipment items from Mr.Al Zimmer, the now late and past owner of Spartan Boxing Equipmen, that was once featured monthly in Ring Magazine.

on a somewhat (very loosely) related note I picked up some old Boxing Illustrated magazines recently and was pleasantly surprised to see ads for Gladiator Spots/Shevlin and Ringside in them

 

[shihtzu]

Any update mate? How do you like them so far and what do you use them for?

 

[Minowafanatic]

There is a little bit of bobbling of the foam, and a tiny bit of paint has come off at the sideo f the fists, I consider them both cosmetic issues and use these gloves for sparring happily.

I don't use them for bagwork because there's too much room inside the glove in terms of depth, if that makes sense (not width, but the height around the fist), and especially along the wrist. The wrist support is quite poor

 

[mixedmajik]

Considering the price...do you feel as satisfied as you thought you would/should for dropping that amount of cash?

 

[goldennboy]

There is a little bit of bobbling of the foam, and a tiny bit of paint has come off at the sideo f the fists, I consider them both cosmetic issues and use these gloves for sparring happily.

I don't use them for bagwork because there's too much room inside the glove in terms of depth, if that makes sense (not width, but the height around the fist), and especially along the wrist. The wrist support is quite poor

a tiny bit of paint has come off on mine too.

 

[Minowafanatic]

Considering the price...do you feel as satisfied as you thought you would/should for dropping that amount of cash?

Yes, I thought then, and still do think they were very good for the price. I don't see how in the UK I could get a better made pair of gloves for $120, buying at retail price. I believe they're more expensive now though. They're my favourite gloves for sparring I've used.