For the general sporting essence, boxing shoes prevail over wrestling shoes with so many reasons to back.
The difference is that boxing shoes are shoe more suitable for most sporting activities. People who like shoes with higher ankle height and great protection commonly refer to them as “booties.”
Shoes with higher ankle height are often made out of leather or suede, mirroring true premium quality.
The main drawback to boxing shoes is that they can be uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Wrestling shoes are sometimes not made out of leather and are still typically more comfortable.
Boxing shoes also light up the latest fashion of sporting shoes in general. If you are planning to buy new pair of shoes with medium or high ankle height, then you should know about some important things related to these types of shoes.
Similarities between boxing shoes and wrestling shoes
- Boxing shoes and wrestling shoes both have grooved rubber
- They are lightweight
- They are shoes with ankle protection
- Both shoes are breathable shoes
Boxing shoes and wrestling shoes both have grooved rubber
The sole of the first athletic shoe was made by slicing a block of solid rubber with a grooved tool.
This gave the shoe better traction but made it heavier and harder to make. It also had to be glued together, which could lead to coming apart when you were running.
The modern approach is to take a thin sheet of rubber, cut out the sole, and glue it to a cloth or canvas upper.
This is much lighter and cheaper, but has one main disadvantage: The thin rubber sole wears out fairly quickly. But this phenomenon is hardly existent with wrestling shoes especially.
The idea behind wrestling waffle-stompers is that if you put little pockets in the sole, you could get extra traction without making the shoe heavy or difficult to manufacture.
They are lightweight
I was reading an article about the Olympics, and they were talking about how many of the shoes provided to the athletes are now made with lightweight materials. And I thought those are still shoes.
And then I thought, boxing shoes are also made of lightweight materials. Lightweight materials are great for boxing and this is why most brands make their shoes as lightweight as possible.
It is a symbol of effectiveness to have lightweight shoes, even if they aren’t that precise for their actual purpose. There is a hierarchy of expensive, high-status sports equipment.
You start with plain leather boxing shoes, then move up to special leather boxing shoes, then to custom-made leather boxing shoes with steel plates in them.
Then you move onto boxing shoes that are covered with snake skins or python skins or lizard skins or some other animal skin that has been killed especially for this purpose.
Then, you move up to the really expensive ones made of lightweight carbon fiber or some other exotic material.
Finally comes the ultimate step: you get your own signature shoe.
People ask me about running shoes, and what I think of them. They are like boxing shoes, which are much lighter than wrestling shoes.
You want light shoes if you are going to be doing a lot of quick movements; the lightness helps you react more quickly.
But for work that requires pushing or pulling, like wrestling, you need more weight at the end of your foot.
If your foot is too light, it will slide out from under you when you try to push or pull against heavy resistance.
They are shoes with ankle protection
There are two kinds of shoes that look like low-top versions of boxing shoes. One kind is called “wrestling shoes” because they are designed for people who do a martial art called wrestling. It is very different from boxing, but it gives you ankle protection too.
A lot of people think that pro wrestlers need ankle protection because doing their sport makes them vulnerable to ankle injuries. But this isn’t true.
The reason is that all wrestling practices are unusually careful about protecting their ankles.
If you ask them to list the parts of their body they are most worried about injuring, they usually put their hands at the top of the list, then their head, then maybe their knees, then their elbows.
Their ankles will be way down on the list, below even their fingers.
But there is one class of boxers who really do injure themselves frequently: beginners. This is because if you haven’t yet developed special techniques for protecting your body in this sport, it exposes them to accidents.
Both shoes are breathable shoes
Boxing shoes and wrestling shoes are like running shoes except that they have a little metal plate under the heel. The plate is supposed to dig into the mat, which is what you want in boxing and wrestling.
There’s one problem with this: It doesn’t work. Or at least it didn’t work for me. The metal plate doesn’t seem to dig in; it just stays up in the air, like a tiny seesaw. So I tried taping it down, but that didn’t work either.
I don’t know why this is. My hunch is that the reason lifting shoes work is that they compress the foam of the sole into a gel that grips better than ordinary foam does.
Maybe something similar is happening with the wrestler’s shoe; maybe you need to compress it more, or maybe you need to do something else entirely.
However it works, what you want in wrestling shoes is not something that will help your feet grip well (there’s no mat) but rather something that will help your foot push more easily against the mat when you need to push against it.
The breathability on both boxing and basketball shoes makes it a whole lot easier to provide this.
Differences between boxing shoes and wrestling shoes
S/NO | Features | Boxing shoes | Wrestling shoes |
1 | Design | More breathable | Less breathable |
2 | Ankle height | Higher ankle height | Medium ankle height |
3 | Materials | Leather/nylon | Synthetics |
4 | Soles | Smoother soles | Rugged soles |
Boxing shoes are more breathable
What does it mean for a shoe to breathe? It means two things. First, it lets the foot “breathe” along with your body, so that sweat can evaporate out of your feet.
This is more common with premium boxing leather shoes. Secondly, it lets the outside air in so that your feet don’t overheat. The second one is what you feel when you put on a pair of brand-new shoes and then practice on a hot day.
I will tell you more about the difference between boxing shoes and wrestling shoes.
If you are a professional athlete or do exercises with sports shoes, you need to buy shoes that are comfortable and protective while being lightweight.
Boxing shoes are made for you to feel comfortable while busy. These shoes are also designed to protect your feet from injuries while you are at it.
The finishing on boxing shoes is made by special technology for making them lightweight and comfortable for wear in any exercise time.
Wrestling shoes also have a special design that can protect our feet from injuries but their counterparts can help boxers move faster with comfort.
Boxing shoes have higher ankle heights
Boxing shoes have higher ankle height than wrestling shoes. Some boxers aren’t so crazy about wearing shoes with high ankle height. But there are many of them who find shoes with higher ankle height much more comfortable.
It is true that boxers who want to look taller should wear shoes with higher ankle heights. The heel of the shoe should be roughly around 2 inches.
Wearing shoes with high ankle heights can also look very classy and attractive.
Some wrestling shoes have large platforms, which look very good. There are many different types of wrestling shoes but the most popular ones are the ones made medium-height, or made of soft rubber or suede. The rubber or suede leather will make your feet feel very comfortable.
The designs of boxing shoes are also different; some may have tassels, some may have t-bar designs, some may be made of plain leather, some may be made of patent leather, etc.
You can choose any design that you like most. The best thing about these high heels is that they will not only make you look taller but also slim your feet and legs.
Most boxing shoes are made of leather to wrestling’s synthetic
It depends on what you mean by “feel”. If you mean touch, then I agree that leather is more pleasant than rubber or vinyl. It’s softer, warmer, and in my opinion more pleasant to touch.
However, if you mean appearance, then I think wrestling shoes look better as boxing shoes are prone to stretching out of shape.
While it’s true that you can probably break in a leather shoe over time, it may never end up fitting your foot exactly right.
With wrestling shoes, you can pick any color or pattern you want at the store and know that they will always fit right.
Here, boxing shoes and wrestling shoes are made in a very different ways. The synthetics on wrestling shoes are made from a single sheet of a kind of plastic called “polyurethane,” which is then cut into the shape of a shoe and assembled by gluing or stitching to form a final product.
On the other side of the coin, boxing shoes are more of leather and suede.
In terms of how it feels to wear them, they’re both pretty comfortable. The synthetics on wrestling shoes have better arch support and leather shoes have better cushioning. In terms of appearance, there isn’t much difference between them at all.
The problem with synthetics is that they don’t have any give in them so they tend to get scuffed up faster than leather shoes unless you take good care of them.
In terms of durability, it’s really hard to tell since boxing shoes get scuffed up too but it seems like wrestling shoes would last longer because they don’t get worn out as quickly due to the strength of rubber.
Wrestling shoes have tougher soles
In terms of soles, it’s more subtle than you think. Wrestling soles lead to more foot usage and that is why their soles are tougher for needed grip.
When boxers end up walking on the sides of their feet, it causes some to trip and fall accidents.
Some boxers go on to develop foot problems like fallen arches and calluses that wouldn’t have happened if they had been walking on the soles of their feet.
When you look at boxing shoes, you see only the good news: you don’t sacrifice traction for toughness. You never notice that your ankle hurts because your shoes force you to walk improperly.
And most wrestlers have no idea how much better they would feel if they just wore whatever shoes were lying around at home.
Pro boxers would prefer not to fall, and so they wear shoes with smooth rubber soles that are also lightweight.
Most people are wrong about Boxing shoes being too slippery and that is why you will always find tons of hilarious bloopers from boxing games on YouTube.
The reason is that shoes are used in two different environments, where two different kinds of friction are important.
When you are pushing off against the ground to walk for wrestling, the kind of friction that matters is static friction.
You want your foot to stick to the ground so that you can push against it. But when you are trying not to fall, the kind of friction that matters is kinetic friction.
You want your foot to come loose from the ground so that it can slide out from under you. Boxing shoe soles also deliver better static friction, but wrestling shoe soles deliver better kinetic friction.
The difference between them is small, but if you have ever tried sporting in them, you know how much difference a small difference can make.
Conclusion
These days, there is a huge difference between wrestling and boxing boots. As a boxer, when you go to the shoe shop, ask for low-ankle boots so that there will be no problem in the future.
You may want to buy low-heeled boxing boots as your profession involves standing for long hours.
When you wear heels with high-ankle boots then it will become difficult for you to strafe or move smoothly.
You also need to choose the right kind of socks before wearing boxing shoes because these kinds of shoes are not compatible with all kinds of socks.
It is better to go for thin socks made from woolen material or any other light material.
Related articles:
- Can You Wear Boxing Shoes for Wrestling
- Best Shoes for Krav Maga
- Best Shoes to Wear in a Fight
- Best Shoes for Muay Thai
This page may contain affiliate links.
To support the content and the knowledge I share here, I earn from qualifying purchases from Amazon at no extra cost to you.