I've been boxing for a few years now. My only complaint was that even though I learned to hit hard with gloves, my hands themselves were not hard. I have a bucket of rice and a bucket of small, superfine aquarium gravel that I punch regularly for 30 or so minute every few days. Your hands swell up something bad the first few times but, eventually you develop pretty mean looking calluses on them that prevent you from hurting or cutting yourself in the event of a fist fight. It's stupid to most but, it seems to have it's place just like hitting your shins with a ratan does in mui thai. The only drawback to this is it gives you some seriously stiff joints in the process.
