Why Does the Referee Wipe Boxers’ Gloves During a Fight?

Worn brown leather boxing gloves resting on a gym floor, illustrating why referees wipe gloves clean of canvas grit during a fight.

Watch any boxing match closely and you’ll see it happen repeatedly. A fighter gets pushed to the canvas, or their glove scrapes the floor during a clinch, and the referee immediately grabs both gloves and wipes them on their shirt before allowing the fight to continue. It happens so quickly and routinely that most viewers […]