As with anything in life get the best your budget will allow. I bought my son a budget speedball as he was getting into boxing and immediately started replacing swivels, back boards. A locking swivel is a must, don't go for a cheapy hook type swivel, the ball will be coming off every five minutes. Get a decent board, not too thin, it wont bounce properly and you'll end up smacking the crap out of it to get any kind of rhythm.