Nike, famous in the boxing spectrum for its former relationship with eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, turns its attention to another rising star for its latest sweet science innovation: Marlen Esparza, and the first-ever Nike boxing boot for women.
Esparza, among the favorites to win the flyweight gold medal at the Rio Olympics next year, told designer Tobie Hatfield that she’d never had a pair of boots she liked. Women’s boxing boots simply don’t exist, so she has always sized down a men’s pair, doubled her socks, and still dealt with ankles that are too tight, toes that are too wide. Well, no longer.
Hatfield tackled the problem from the ground up, engineering an entirely new model built to the specifications of the female boxer’s foot. Notably, Esparza asked for a higher and more protective collar, reimagined design for a more secure toe, different fit for her foot shape and a number of other features. Hatfield tapped past designs he’d built, including wrestling shoes, and was able to create a cohesive new design using tried-and-true materials and concepts, all without reinventing the wheel.
The finished product is the Nike Hyperjab, the first women’s boxing boot from the Swoosh, and an impressive combination of performance technologies and precise design language. In addition to Esparza, expect to see the Nike Hyperjab on the feet of a number of USA Boxing athletes during the currently ongoing Olympic Trials and in Rio next summer. Read the whole story on Sports Illustrated, and take a look at the design sketches below.