What are boxing shoes?
The biggest, most critical difference between boxing shoes and all other athletic shoes is the sole. Boxing shoes have very thin, light soles whereas other athletic shoes have thicker, heavier soles. Boxing soles are also flat, as is the rest of the shoe in general. Most, if not all, of the time, boxing shoes also have ankle support, thus coming up higher on the ankles for the high-top, boot kind of look.
How do they help you with boxing?
Consider what the feet do while boxing. The boxer generally stays up on their toes but also needs to dig down into the ground and push off for punches. The boxer needs to be very agile and move in any direction at any moment. The fighting stance is relatively wide, providing maximum balance, and crossing your feet is rarely done. While the feet need to move quickly, it is only in short bursts (a split second or two) and never in one uninterrupted direction for any period of time. I.e. there is never any point where the boxer is running or trying to achieve a top speed with their legs. The boxer also does not need to lift their foot off the ground very high. The lower the better, for several reasons. Pivoting quickly is both a huge part of boxing footwork and proper punch technique.
The thin, light soles allow the feet to move quickly, with the least resistance. You can actually feel your feet grip the ground too, which allows you to dig in and drive off more easily with proprioception. The soles themselves do not stick to the ground as much and this ensures that you don't get stuck moving one way and can't change in a split second. They also let you almost slide your feet along the floor so the amount of time spent on one foot is minimal. The ankle support helps you make all those directional changes most easily too. All of this applies to pivoting as well.
Are any other shoes good for boxing?
There is nothing I would say is necessarily good for boxing but certainly some are better than others. Tennis is not dissimilar to boxing in terms of footwork and rotation so tennis shoes can work. In tennis however, there are plenty of times to cross feet and get up to maximum speed and thus, the soles are curved in a way to help you spring forward in a way not appropriate for boxing. They also need to absorb a lot more shock so they are heavier and don't slide at all. Basketball shoes generally have good ankle support for boxing and are made with reinforced souls that help with all the omnidirectional movement, pivoting, and wear. But of course those same souls are thicker and heavier, also designed to help you get close to max speed as well us upward spring for jumping high, something NEVER done in boxing. Then there are just the standard cross-trainer shoes that will certainly work for boxing training too. But probably the best are wrestling shoes, since the movement is most similar between the two sports. And wrestling shoes look pretty much the same as boxing shoes. There are even boxers who fight in wrestling shoes. I myself have never done it but if Floyd Mayweather has, we probably could, too.
Are any other shoes BAD for boxing training?
I would say running shoes, particularly distance running shoes, are actually bad for boxing training. Bad for your ankles and bad for your feet. Because they are made for running straight ahead and that is it. They are light, that part is good, but curved and don't allow for safe omnidirectional movement, in my book. The ankle support isn't there at all and pushing off the ground with your left foot, then pushing back the other direction going right, for example, will pressure the sides of your feet in a way that can be uncomfortable in many instances.
Are boxing shoes good for anything besides boxing?
I say no. Even though I mentioned earlier that some boxers fight in wrestling shoes, I don't think boxing shoes would work for wrestling. The main reason is that wrestling shoes need to be more flexible because sometimes your foot gets twisted and rolled in different directions. Most boxing shoes that I know of would pinch in such a situation. And for all other traditional sports, the lack of sole is going to make ground impact uncomfortable.
What about kickboxing?
No! Though a lot of the footwork in boxing and kickboxing is similar, most round/roundhouse kicks involve contact between the kicker’s shin bones and the target. You generally want this contact lower on the shins, right above the ankle. Take a look at any pair of boxing shoes and what do you see covering that area? The tongue and the laces! The ankle support of a boxing shoe covers that area so when you land the roundhouse kick, there is a good chance you are going to land it on the laces and that doesn't feel good, nor is it effective in any way. There are plenty of other smaller reasons but this alone is more than enough. No kickboxer fights in boxing shoes nor are there any shoes specifically designed for kickboxing and the reason is because bare feet really are the best option. If you don't want to use bare feet, a light cross-training shoe will be just fine. You just don't want your ankles covered and something that provides good balance on one leg.
Besides the cost, is there any downside to owning boxing shoes?
I feel a third "no" in a row coming on! No downside at all. Boxing will be better in your boxing shoes, there is no doubt about it. Boxing shoes do tend to wear pretty fast though. My feet are particularly wide and it doesn't take long before the shoe and the sole start to separate on the sides. Plus since the sole is, by design, lighter and smaller, it is going to break down faster. They are just not meant to be particularly durable shoes. But that doesn't mean that you should be buying them every few months, even if you box most days of the week. The tricky part is finding good, quality boxing shoes that work for your particular feet and style of movement. Most places do not sell them so they will have to be ordered online. Just make sure there is a good return policy if you don't like the fit or they fall apart too quickly.
So, should I get boxing shoes?
I think that one is going to depend a lot on you. I would highly recommend them to anybody serious about boxing training for fitness. Then for someone who wants to box competitively on any level, it is a pretty much a must. Footwork is one of the most difficult things in boxing and as I have mentioned on this very blog, it is also the most important thing in boxing. Proper shoes will help your footwork. They will make it easier for you to move in what is generally an awkward for just about anyone. I would say the right pair of boxing shoes will make a more significant difference in your performance than just about any other sport-specific shoe other than cleats.
Another thing to consider is how you feel. I can tell you with just about 100% certainty that if you feel better about the way you look while boxing, you will perform better. A new pair of gloves or shoes or even an outfit can make a significant difference. Having the shoes makes it feel a little more serious. Like you are taking training seriously and that can have a carry-over effect too.
Then there is another mental component kind of along the same lines that when you are about to start training and you take off the shoes you walked in wearing, then sit down to lace up your boxing shoes, it helps get your head in the game. Reinforces that you are boxing now and for many of us, that is particular mindset. The wrapping of hands does this too. Warriors going into battle.
On the flip side, I personally enjoy boxing in non-high top basketball shoes too. I have a wider, more open stance than some and the bigger soles help my feet with balance and push-off but at the same time, I definitely wouldn't say I'm better in basketball shoes. It's just different and both are good for me. At the very least, having a pair specifically for boxing helps too reducing the overall wear on my shoes as a collective. If you have any questions about specific recommendations from me or my shoe collective, let me/us know!
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