Punch the air

A new inflatable boxing glove is being touted as the glove of the future by Italian inventor Carlo Zaccaro. The blow-up glove has no seams and is made of a synthetic leather which, claims the Italian, reduces impact by 40 per cent.

The glove is inflated around the shape of the boxer's hand and when a punch lands it has the same effect as a car air bag. The cotton inner glove also means that boxers do not have to tape their hands, thus reducing the likelihood of fractures of the fingers and knuckles.

Zaccaro, who also invented the air pockets in training shoes which helped earn Nike and Adidas around £80 billion, claims that overall brain damage to fighters can be reduced. Already the British Boxing Board of Control has shown an interest and Lonsdale, the biggest makers of gloves in Britain, have labelled it the gloves as the model of the future.