CLETO REYES Training Boxing Gloves Review: classic puncher’s gloves for people who actually train hard

I’ve been using the CLETO REYES 14oz Training Boxing Gloves with hook-and-loop closure in Electric Blue for a few weeks now, mainly for heavy bag work and some light sparring. I’m not a pro, I just train 3–4 times a week and I’ve burned through enough cheaper gloves to know what falls apart and what holds up. I bought these after my old mid-range gloves started to flatten out in the knuckles and my wrists began to feel it on harder rounds.

First impression when I pulled them out of the box: they feel like real boxing gear, not fitness gloves. The leather smell hits you right away, the padding is quite firm, and they’re not super soft or pillowy like some beginner gloves. You can tell right away these are built more for people who like to punch through the target, not just tap a cardio bag for 20 minutes.

The flip side is that out of the box they feel stiff and a bit tight, especially in 14oz. If you’ve only used broken-in gym gloves, you might think you bought the wrong size at first. After a few heavy bag sessions and mitt work, though, they start to mold to your hand. It’s not instant comfort, you actually have to work them in, but that’s pretty normal with Reyes.

Overall, after a few weeks, my impression is that these gloves are clearly built for performance and durability first, comfort second. If you’re okay with a short break-in period and you actually train regularly, they make sense. If you just hit the bag once every two weeks, there are cheaper and softer options that will feel nicer right away and cost you a lot less.

Let’s be blunt: these gloves are not cheap. You can easily find training gloves for half or even a third of the price. So the real question is whether they’re worth it for you. In my case, I was tired of buying mid-range gloves that felt nice for a while but died after a year of regular training. When you add up two or three pairs of those, you’re basically at the price of one pair of Reyes anyway.

Where the value shows is in the materials, the performance, and the likely lifespan. You’re getting real leather, solid stitching, firm padding that holds up, and a glove that actually feels built for serious boxing, not just fitness. If you’re training 2–4 times a week on the bag and pads, that difference matters. Your hands feel safer, and you’re less likely to be shopping for new gloves every few months.

On the downside, if you’re a complete beginner or you only hit the bag occasionally, you probably won’t get the full value out of these. The break-in period might annoy you, and you might actually prefer something softer and cheaper that feels comfy right away. Also, at this price, it stings a bit that there’s no carrying bag or small extras included. It’s literally just the gloves in basic packaging.

So in terms of value for money, I’d say they’re worth it if you’re serious about training and plan to use them a lot over a long period. They’re overkill if you box once in a while for fun. For regular boxers, kickboxers, or Muay Thai folks who hit hard and often, the price starts to make sense because you’re paying for durability and proper hand protection, not just a brand name.

Design-wise, these are classic Cleto Reyes: a bit more compact and puncher-oriented than a lot of modern, heavily padded gloves. The profile is slimmer than my old 16oz training gloves, so when you make a fist, you feel closer to the knuckles. That’s nice for feedback and accuracy, but it also means you actually need to wrap your hands properly, because they don’t hide everything behind a big cushion.

The hand compartment is on the tighter side, especially at 14oz. When I first slid my hand in with 180" wraps, it felt pretty snug, almost too much. After a few sessions, the leather and padding started to give a bit, and now they feel like they’re molded around my hand. If you like a loose glove where your hand floats around, this is not that. These really hug the hand, which I personally like once they’re broken in.

The thumb is attached and set in a natural position. I never felt like my thumb was jammed or bent weirdly on impact, which used to happen with some cheap gloves I had where the thumb was too long. The grip bar is solid and helps you close a tight fist. The wrist strap wraps around nicely, but as I said, it’s not ultra-wide. You get support, but not that locked-in cast feeling some people love from more modern designs. For me, it’s enough as long as I wrap my wrists decently.

One thing I appreciate is the overall shape: it feels like they’re designed for real boxing, not fitness classes. You can slip shots, block, and parry without feeling like you’re wearing big pillows. For sparring, they’re okay if you keep it light and controlled, but I wouldn’t use these 14oz Reyes for hard sparring rounds, especially if your partner is much lighter than you. They hit pretty solidly, and people will feel it.

Comfort is where you need to be honest with yourself about what you want. Out of the box, these are not the soft, instantly comfy type of glove. The hand compartment is narrow, the padding is firm, and the leather is stiff. The first 2–3 sessions, I had to wiggle my hand in pretty hard with full wraps, and I was thinking I maybe should have gone 16oz just for more room. But after a few rounds on the bag and some mitt work, they started to loosen up in a good way.

Once broken in, the comfort really improves. The glove starts to wrap around your hand, the padding loosens just enough so you can close a full fist without fighting the glove, and the grip bar helps you keep your hand in the right position. I never had hot spots or rubbing issues on my knuckles or thumb, which I’ve had before with some brands where the internal seams were badly placed.

The wrist support is decent, but not crazy. If you have weak wrists or bad form, these won’t magically fix that. They keep your wrist from bending too much if you punch straight, but they’re less forgiving if you land shots with bad alignment. Personally, I like that feedback, but if you’re a beginner and your technique is still all over the place, something more padded and more structured might feel nicer and safer at the start.

Heat-wise, they’re average. They’re not super ventilated, but I didn’t feel like my hands were cooking more than in other leather gloves. The lining is smooth and doesn’t bunch up, which is important for longer sessions. Overall, once broken in, I’d say comfort is pretty solid, but be ready for a break-in period and don’t expect a soft, glove-like-a-pillow feel on day one.

The standout thing with these gloves is the leather quality. Compared to the synthetic or low-grade leather I’ve had on cheaper gloves, this feels thicker and more serious. When you press on the surface, it doesn’t feel plasticky or flimsy. It has that real leather smell that actually sticks around for a while. Some might not care, but to me that usually means you’re getting something that can take a beating without flaking or peeling after a month.

The padding is a long-lasting foam core, and you can tell right away it’s not the super soft kind. On the heavy bag, you feel your knuckles line up behind the padding, but it still takes the sting out. The first few sessions, my hands were aware of the impact more than with ultra-padded gloves, but I never had pain or bruising as long as my wraps were done properly. If you’re coming from big, soft gloves, this will feel more direct and sharper, but that’s usually what people go to Reyes for.

The lining is advertised as water-resistant, and in practice that just means sweat doesn’t soak through as quickly into the padding. After a hard session, the inside of the glove is damp but not swampy, and they dry out decently fast if you leave them open. I haven’t noticed any weird smells yet, but I also air them out and sometimes use a glove deodorizer, which I recommend for any glove, not just these.

Stitching looks clean and tight. After a few weeks of solid use—bag work, mitts, and some partner drills—I don’t see any loose threads, splits, or separation between the leather and padding. With cheaper gloves, I usually start seeing small issues in that time frame. Here, everything still feels solid. So from a materials standpoint, they feel like they’re built to last a lot longer than the usual $50–$70 training gloves.

Durability is one of the main reasons I went for Cleto Reyes instead of buying another mid-range pair. My last two cheaper gloves both had the same issues: the padding flattened out after a few months of heavy bag use, and the outer material started to crack where the glove bent. With these Reyes, after a few weeks of regular use (3–4 sessions per week, mostly bag and mitts), I honestly don’t see any early signs of wear.

The leather still looks good, no peeling or cracking, and the color hasn’t faded despite being constantly covered in sweat. The seams around the thumb and wrist, which are usually weak points, are still tight. The Velcro still grabs as strong as day one, and there’s no fraying around the strap. The padding has softened slightly from break-in, but it hasn’t collapsed or gone mushy. It still feels supportive when I hit hard.

The water-resistant lining seems to help with long-term durability too. Because sweat doesn’t soak into the padding as much, the gloves don’t feel waterlogged, and they dry out faster between sessions. I still air them out, but they don’t have that permanent damp feeling some old gloves get. Long term, that usually means the foam will last longer and not rot from the inside.

Obviously, I can’t simulate 2 years of use in a few weeks, but judging by the build quality and what I’m seeing so far, I’d expect these to easily outlast the usual budget training gloves. If you’re someone who trains regularly, that matters. Instead of burning through a pair every 6–12 months, it looks like these could keep going strong for years if you take basic care of them.

On the heavy bag, these gloves feel crisp. The padding is firm enough that you get a clear sense of your punches landing, and you can really drive through the target. The sound and feel on impact are satisfying, especially on a dense bag. I felt like my straight shots and hooks were more accurate just because the glove isn’t huge and bulky. You feel more connected to your punches compared to big, fluffy training gloves.

For mitt work, they’re great. The compact shape makes combinations feel quick, and the wrist stays stable when the coach fires back with counters. I never felt the glove twist around my hand, which used to happen with softer gloves when catching hard pads. The attached thumb also does its job—no thumb jams on mishits so far, which is something I’ve had in cheaper gloves with weird thumb angles.

For sparring, I’d say they are okay for controlled, light sparring, but I wouldn’t use these 14oz Reyes if your gym likes to go hard or if you’re bigger and your partners are smaller. They have a puncher feel, so your partner will feel your shots more than with a super soft, sparring-dedicated glove. If you want Reyes for serious sparring, I’d personally go 16oz or 18oz to spread the impact a bit more.

In terms of hand protection, after multiple 8–10 round bag sessions, my knuckles and wrists felt fine, no swelling or joint pain. The gloves reward good technique, though. If your form is sloppy, they’ll remind you. For me, that’s a plus, because it pushes you to punch correctly. Overall, for actual training—bag, mitts, drills—these perform very well and feel built for people who are serious about boxing or combat sports, not just casual cardio boxing.

On paper, these are 14oz training gloves, leather, hook-and-loop closure, made in Mexico, with an attached thumb and a water-resistant lining. They’re sold as an all-purpose glove: bag work, mitts, and some sparring. I’m around 150 lbs, so 14oz is right in the recommended weight range. I picked them specifically because I wanted something that could handle both the heavy bag and occasional light sparring without swapping gloves all the time.

The color is called Electric Blue, but in person it’s more of a strong, solid blue than some flashy neon nonsense. It looks clean and classic. The big CLETO REYES patch on the wrist makes it obvious what brand it is, which some people like and some don’t. Personally, I don’t really care about the logo, I care more about whether my knuckles and wrists survive a hard 10-round bag session.

These gloves are ambidextrous, so nothing special to say there. The closure is a leather strap with hook-and-loop, not cheap fabric. It feels sturdy and holds tight, but it’s not as wide as some modern gloves, so the wrist support comes more from the glove’s shape and padding than from a huge Velcro surface. The padding is long-latency foam, pretty dense. The first few days, my hands definitely noticed it compared to softer gloves like some generic gym brands.

If you expect a full fancy unboxing experience, you can forget it. They come in pretty standard packaging, nothing premium-looking. But honestly, that fits the product: they’re clearly built to be used, not displayed. All the value is in the glove itself, not in the box or extras. No bag, no wraps, no nonsense—just the gloves.