Nov 08, 2023

What headgear do I need for amateur boxing?

by Jonathan Hernandez

USA Boxing Approved Headgear for Competition

In order for you to compete in USA sanctioned events you must comply with the rules created by USA Boxing. Most people don't know that only USA boxing or IBA approved headgear is allowed, so your typical sparring headgear won't make the cut.

In local events the tournament organizer may provide the headgear for it's participants, yet from my experience most tournament organizers only provide the gloves. Red or blue colored headgears are recommended by USA Boxing, but headgears of other colors are allowed, although according to USA boxing rulebook national events may be more restrictive about the color of the headgear. A great way to ensure you won't have any issues is to check the event fact sheet to ascertain (USA Boxing Rulebook 37.4).

Master's Boxing Tournaments:

Recently USA boxing updated their rules about masters specific headgear. Prior to the update anything that had the USA boxing stamp or IBA stamp was also approved for Master's boxing tournaments; however, that has since changed and only gear with the the Masters approved tag is permitted for the most part.

Here's an example of a USA Boxing approved Masters headgear:

International Approved headgear:

Only IBA stamped headgear in Red or blue colors are permitted for international tournaments and for most national tournaments red or blue headgear is allowed. Below is Sting's IBF (IBA) approved headgear that is also approved by USA boxing and Masters boxing tournaments.