Aren't already rampant in boxing?! Ignore Mayweather and Pacquiao this has nothing to do with them specifically, and take into account that for years Boxing has had the most basic level of testing in sports to catch cheaters and people from other sports are able to beat year round, random, Olympic drug testing?
Look at almost every other sport, athletes that are not doping are unable to compete with those that do. In cycling you wouldn't be able to even break into the top 50 maybe even 100 if you weren't cheating. Boxing has an element of styles to it so there might be outliers that do not need to cheat.
But I would wager that at the top level above 90%+ of boxers have used PEDs in one form or another. The USADA and VADA arguments are ridiculous since they only test from the moment a fight is agreed, so that leaves a fighter free to cheat in the entire space between that time and yes this would give you a huge advantage.
I would absolutely expect drugs like Clenbuterol to be everywhere, for people that follow bodybuilding they will know it is almost impossible for advanced athletes to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time unless you are a beginner because you cannot build muscle on a calorie deficit, unless you use drugs like Clenbuterol, especially for those guys who have to lose all that weight before a fight.
Far too much money to be made in such a short window for these guys not to be doing it IMO. I'd love to believe the sport is clean, but it doesn't exactly have a history of clean fighters, even superstars have been caught. My opinion is most are on something. People can beat the tests and they know it.
Boxing has consistently delivered the same outcomes for too long to believe that doping is rampant.
Fighter turns pro late teens/early 20's, has a ten year run where the body peaks, before the decline sets in over the next 5 years, and the career ends. Depending on how a fighter treats their body (avoiding alcohol/drugs, avoiding putting the body through yo-yo dieting, how often you fight, the amount of punishment you take in a fight, etc), they can expand/narrow that window, but the course of a career is still pretty constant.
The questions arise when a fighter emerges and skews drastically beyond that general course of a boxing career. Expanded testing keeps people honest, catching the folks who don't stick out like a sore thumb.
maybe im just cynical but I would not be surprised if anyone tests positive for peds. With technology as it is today and basic human nature and ingenuity, the possibilities are endless. With that said, still believe in innocent until proven guilty but it is also a part of the boxer/athlete's job to make me believe he is not doping. If someone is doping, he better make sure he never gets caught or even does anything suspicious.
Right after Victor Conte came clean he was doing all these interviews and ESPN (or some media outlet) asked him what sports were the dirtiest. He listed cycling, boxing and weightlifting immediately. This was over a decade ago already. Hell yeah they're dirty, I'd estimate >90% of the top guys in the sport are doping.
the one thing u got to remember is doing ped and getting away with it is expensive but ya at thye top levels of course its just like any other sport ped is a problem no doubt but i dont know if its any worse then any other sport
I think this depends on how far you want to go into PED use. The (only) problem with olympic style testing is PED use at the "GNC" level is prohibited and in that case I think itd be safe to say all boxers at one point have gone into GNC. As for Anabolic steroid use, most boxers with money and care about their bodies wouldnt touch them with a 10ft pole. Where I think the problem lies is in the more safisticated PED use like EPO & hgh usage and theres no telling how many boxers at the world class level use them but I will say NOBODY would surprise me to hear they use either.
Bias aside I really believe there's a fundamental difference in terms of culture and training between boxing and MMA which means those in the latter are far more inclined to use PED's.
Many forms of PED's, such as HGH etc. simply wouldn't be useful in boxing and there's this scientific, chemical, body builder-esque fixation in MMA which I feel seriously encourages PED use while in boxing I feel, for the most part, fighters are more old school/simply aren't in touch with the people that could supply them with steroids.
Genuine question why do you think highly competitive athletes in this sport would be any different than any other sport with an even lower barrier to cheat. The UFC is rampant with doping also, so it isn't the fact is a combat sport.
Peterson, Mosley, Toney, Morales, Berto, Guillermo Jones, Holyfield, Mayorga, Chavez Jr, Salido, Gamboa have all either been caught or very heavily linked with evidence to PEDs.
I understand your point, but I don't think everyone is dirty just because some are.
The guys I listed, and others, I believe are doing it clean. Yes there is a heavy incentive to cheat. But the guys I mentioned and others I didn't don't strike me as cheaters.
They tire, they have off days, they fight better guys. they fight in bigger venues with bigger rings. this accounts for the change in performance as it has since I started watching boxing.
I actually do not. I don't think Broner, Canelo, GGG, Kovalev, rigo, waiters and other up and coming stars are using PED's. I don't think young prospects like Joshua, spence, verdejo, loma are using either.
I agree, it's a cheat's mentality that thinks everyone else is cheating and it's not something I buy into.
I had a dream last night that Golovkin was fighting Golovkin, made no sense, but Golovkin ending up knocking out the other Golovkin with a nasty body shot in the first round. I was sad and happy at the same time lol.
Damn NATAS send me some of that Seattle ganja :lol1:
I actually do not. I don't think Broner, Canelo, GGG, Kovalev, rigo, waiters and other up and coming stars are using PED's. I don't think young prospects like Joshua, spence, verdejo, loma are using either.
Genuine question why do you think highly competitive athletes in this sport would be any different than any other sport with an even lower barrier to cheat. The UFC is rampant with doping also, so it isn't the fact is a combat sport.
Peterson, Mosley, Toney, Morales, Berto, Guillermo Jones, Holyfield, Mayorga, Chavez Jr, Salido, Gamboa have all either been caught or very heavily linked with evidence to PEDs.
I actually do not. I don't think Broner, Canelo, GGG, Kovalev, rigo, waiters and other up and coming stars are using PED's. I don't think young prospects like Joshua, spence, verdejo, loma are using either.