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Exclusive: Tommy ''The Duke'' Morrison Speaks Out on Steroids in
Boxing
By Sean Newman
Courtesy RingSideReport.com
Go to any sports website these days and chances are excellent that you
will run across several news items and opinion pieces on the hot topic
of the day, steroids, particularly steroids and Major League Baseball.
Did this player use them? Should there be an asterisk placed in the
books next to all the records set in the past ten to fifteen years?
Just how much do steroids enhance a player's ability? What, if
anything, should be done to curtail their use? Jose Canseco had plenty
to say on the topic in his book "Juiced," a book that former WBO
Heavyweight Champion and Rocky V co-star Tommy "The Duke" Morrison
says he has not yet read, but is interested in perusing. Boxing has
had its own share of steroid-related controversies, although not as
highly publicized, going back to when Frans Botha was stripped of his
IBF heavyweight title for a positive steroid test and beyond.
While the majority of those suspected of steroid use in baseball and
boxing have remained vague, if not altogether mum, Morrison, who is
essentially ten years removed from the game, has been very candid
about his steroid use, and this interview provides no exception. Here,
for the first time, Morrison goes in-depth on the topic of steroids in
boxing, his own use of performance enhancing substances and how he
feels they help a fighter, and his thoughts on the stir that has been
created over this issue. Some topics were understandably covered off
the record, but through this interview it becomes clear that the use
of steroids might be more pervasive than any of us previously
conceived.
SN: Tommy, you have always been very open about the fact that during
much of your professional boxing career, you used steroids. Can you
tell us when you started using them?
I can tell you when, but I won't say how (laughs). Actually, I got
into them a little bit in high school, but it was more in the pills,
the oral stuff. The injections and stuff wasn't until later. As far as
my professional career, probably around 1991. I used them not while I
was training, but in between bouts. I just want to make sure that is
clear.
SN: What kind of steroids did you stack and in what dosages?
Usually a CC of whatever I was taking. A lot of times they were oral,
some of them weren't, in the off time. The benefits were that it made
me more aggressive, like I needed that (laughs). It made me more
aggressive in every area of my life. I never went over the edge,
though, like some guys you hear about. I want everyone to know though,
and I learned early, that if you're going to do it, you have to keep a
cool head.
SN: What changes did you notice when you began using steroids?
You become bigger, faster, and stronger. That's the reason why
everyone does it. In order to compete, you have to do it too. That's
not something that was talked about, but I guarantee you that it was
never tested, so hell yeah people are going to do it.
SN: How do you think steroids would aid a professional boxer, or any
athlete in general?
Like I said, it just makes you bigger, faster, and stronger. It helps
with your endurance also, your recovery time between rounds. You
recover faster when you have that stuff in your system. The flip side
of that is that if you go over your boundaries, push yourself beyond
your limit, you'll never recover. That's why it's important that while
you do it, you have to train, you have to work out.
SN: In his book "Juiced," Jose Canseco reveals that he doesn't believe
that he would have even made it to the major leagues without the
benefit of steroids. How far do you think you would have gone in
professional boxing without them?
I wouldn't have gone as far as I did, I guarantee you that. I probably
would have fought as a cruiserweight. When I was in training, if I
didn't have that extra fifteen to twenty pounds, I would have fought
there. I always had the power and the speed, I just needed the
endurance, which was my problem.
SN: How were you able to avoid testing positive for steroid use during
your career?
Because they didn't test for steroids back then. They do now, I don't
know why, but they do. It's very expensive, and from what I hear, when
they test for something, they have to test for a specific type of
steroid. So if they don't know what they're testing for, they won't
figure out what you're on, unless you just offered it up to them.
SN: What is your opinion on the current steroid controversy
surrounding Major League Baseball? Is it much ado about nothing, or
should strict measures be taken to eliminate the use of performance
enhancing substances?
I think that in a professional sport the athlete should be able to do
what the hell they want. People need to just back off and let them be
what they want to be. That's why people spend the money to go to the
ballpark in the first place, to see somebody jack one out. If they
jack one out, maybe more people come to the ballpark, and maybe
they'll make more money. Know what I mean? That's it, in a nutshell.
College players, high school players, no it doesn't set a good
example, but those guys didn't ask to be examples, they didn't ask to
be role models. They just are. They're just trying to do what's best
for them, and everyone needs to stay out of their business.
SN: Do you think that asterisks should be added to the numerous
records that have been set in what has become known as "The Steroid
Era" in baseball?
Well you don't know what those guys back in the old days were doing
who set the records. Without positive proof, I don't see how they
could do something like that.
SN: While taking steroids or in the years since your boxing career
ended, have you had any noticeable side effects or health problems as
a result of your use? How do you explain the untimely deaths of some
athletes and former athletes who have died from problems allegedly
brought on by steroids?
Not one problem. Matter of fact, I still take testosterone as part of
my HIV treatment. As far as athletes, when I used them, I used them
under a doctor's supervision, and I knew a lot about them anyway. I
learned a lot along the way. So if you are going to do it, you have to
do it the right way.
SN: Have there ever been any boxers that you knew were taking steroids
while you were fighting?
Well, there's no doubt some people were taking them, but I can't name
any names for you. I definitely know about some of the top fighters,
though. But just because you take them, doesn't mean you're going to
get better. You have to know how to take them, or what to do while
you're taking them, or otherwise it would just be a waste. But I want
to reiterate what I said before, in a professional sport you should
just be left alone. That's why people pay the big bucks to sit
ringside at a heavyweight championship fight, they want to see
somebody get hurt. People love violence, so call a spade a spade. Let
'em go, let 'em do what they want. It's not about what kind of example
we're setting for our children, because it's gonna be twenty ****ing
years before they are even playing baseball or whatever. So they'll
grow a brain between now and then, and by then it will be forgotten.
SN: Did you ever feel like you were cheating by using steroids?
Hell no. I thought I was doing myself and my family a service. I was
making myself a bigger and stronger person, and I loved it. It made me
feel like in the morning when I got out of bed I wanted to tear down
the wall. I was snorting like a bull, walking around the house. I
wanted to **** everything that moved. (Laughs)
SN: What do you say in response to those who argue that a fighter or
player who does not use steroids is almost pressured into taking them
for fear of not being able to compete on a level playing field?
I never did it out of a fear that I couldn't compete, I just looked at
it as bettering my chances. I looked around and from what I saw,
everybody was doing the same ****. It wasn't something that was talked
about openly, but when you looked around you could tell. Takes one to
know one, you know?
E mail Sean at Newman @ringsidereport.com
Boxing
By Sean Newman
Courtesy RingSideReport.com
Go to any sports website these days and chances are excellent that you
will run across several news items and opinion pieces on the hot topic
of the day, steroids, particularly steroids and Major League Baseball.
Did this player use them? Should there be an asterisk placed in the
books next to all the records set in the past ten to fifteen years?
Just how much do steroids enhance a player's ability? What, if
anything, should be done to curtail their use? Jose Canseco had plenty
to say on the topic in his book "Juiced," a book that former WBO
Heavyweight Champion and Rocky V co-star Tommy "The Duke" Morrison
says he has not yet read, but is interested in perusing. Boxing has
had its own share of steroid-related controversies, although not as
highly publicized, going back to when Frans Botha was stripped of his
IBF heavyweight title for a positive steroid test and beyond.
While the majority of those suspected of steroid use in baseball and
boxing have remained vague, if not altogether mum, Morrison, who is
essentially ten years removed from the game, has been very candid
about his steroid use, and this interview provides no exception. Here,
for the first time, Morrison goes in-depth on the topic of steroids in
boxing, his own use of performance enhancing substances and how he
feels they help a fighter, and his thoughts on the stir that has been
created over this issue. Some topics were understandably covered off
the record, but through this interview it becomes clear that the use
of steroids might be more pervasive than any of us previously
conceived.
SN: Tommy, you have always been very open about the fact that during
much of your professional boxing career, you used steroids. Can you
tell us when you started using them?
I can tell you when, but I won't say how (laughs). Actually, I got
into them a little bit in high school, but it was more in the pills,
the oral stuff. The injections and stuff wasn't until later. As far as
my professional career, probably around 1991. I used them not while I
was training, but in between bouts. I just want to make sure that is
clear.
SN: What kind of steroids did you stack and in what dosages?
Usually a CC of whatever I was taking. A lot of times they were oral,
some of them weren't, in the off time. The benefits were that it made
me more aggressive, like I needed that (laughs). It made me more
aggressive in every area of my life. I never went over the edge,
though, like some guys you hear about. I want everyone to know though,
and I learned early, that if you're going to do it, you have to keep a
cool head.
SN: What changes did you notice when you began using steroids?
You become bigger, faster, and stronger. That's the reason why
everyone does it. In order to compete, you have to do it too. That's
not something that was talked about, but I guarantee you that it was
never tested, so hell yeah people are going to do it.
SN: How do you think steroids would aid a professional boxer, or any
athlete in general?
Like I said, it just makes you bigger, faster, and stronger. It helps
with your endurance also, your recovery time between rounds. You
recover faster when you have that stuff in your system. The flip side
of that is that if you go over your boundaries, push yourself beyond
your limit, you'll never recover. That's why it's important that while
you do it, you have to train, you have to work out.
SN: In his book "Juiced," Jose Canseco reveals that he doesn't believe
that he would have even made it to the major leagues without the
benefit of steroids. How far do you think you would have gone in
professional boxing without them?
I wouldn't have gone as far as I did, I guarantee you that. I probably
would have fought as a cruiserweight. When I was in training, if I
didn't have that extra fifteen to twenty pounds, I would have fought
there. I always had the power and the speed, I just needed the
endurance, which was my problem.
SN: How were you able to avoid testing positive for steroid use during
your career?
Because they didn't test for steroids back then. They do now, I don't
know why, but they do. It's very expensive, and from what I hear, when
they test for something, they have to test for a specific type of
steroid. So if they don't know what they're testing for, they won't
figure out what you're on, unless you just offered it up to them.
SN: What is your opinion on the current steroid controversy
surrounding Major League Baseball? Is it much ado about nothing, or
should strict measures be taken to eliminate the use of performance
enhancing substances?
I think that in a professional sport the athlete should be able to do
what the hell they want. People need to just back off and let them be
what they want to be. That's why people spend the money to go to the
ballpark in the first place, to see somebody jack one out. If they
jack one out, maybe more people come to the ballpark, and maybe
they'll make more money. Know what I mean? That's it, in a nutshell.
College players, high school players, no it doesn't set a good
example, but those guys didn't ask to be examples, they didn't ask to
be role models. They just are. They're just trying to do what's best
for them, and everyone needs to stay out of their business.
SN: Do you think that asterisks should be added to the numerous
records that have been set in what has become known as "The Steroid
Era" in baseball?
Well you don't know what those guys back in the old days were doing
who set the records. Without positive proof, I don't see how they
could do something like that.
SN: While taking steroids or in the years since your boxing career
ended, have you had any noticeable side effects or health problems as
a result of your use? How do you explain the untimely deaths of some
athletes and former athletes who have died from problems allegedly
brought on by steroids?
Not one problem. Matter of fact, I still take testosterone as part of
my HIV treatment. As far as athletes, when I used them, I used them
under a doctor's supervision, and I knew a lot about them anyway. I
learned a lot along the way. So if you are going to do it, you have to
do it the right way.
SN: Have there ever been any boxers that you knew were taking steroids
while you were fighting?
Well, there's no doubt some people were taking them, but I can't name
any names for you. I definitely know about some of the top fighters,
though. But just because you take them, doesn't mean you're going to
get better. You have to know how to take them, or what to do while
you're taking them, or otherwise it would just be a waste. But I want
to reiterate what I said before, in a professional sport you should
just be left alone. That's why people pay the big bucks to sit
ringside at a heavyweight championship fight, they want to see
somebody get hurt. People love violence, so call a spade a spade. Let
'em go, let 'em do what they want. It's not about what kind of example
we're setting for our children, because it's gonna be twenty ****ing
years before they are even playing baseball or whatever. So they'll
grow a brain between now and then, and by then it will be forgotten.
SN: Did you ever feel like you were cheating by using steroids?
Hell no. I thought I was doing myself and my family a service. I was
making myself a bigger and stronger person, and I loved it. It made me
feel like in the morning when I got out of bed I wanted to tear down
the wall. I was snorting like a bull, walking around the house. I
wanted to **** everything that moved. (Laughs)
SN: What do you say in response to those who argue that a fighter or
player who does not use steroids is almost pressured into taking them
for fear of not being able to compete on a level playing field?
I never did it out of a fear that I couldn't compete, I just looked at
it as bettering my chances. I looked around and from what I saw,
everybody was doing the same ****. It wasn't something that was talked
about openly, but when you looked around you could tell. Takes one to
know one, you know?
E mail Sean at Newman @ringsidereport.com
Willie Pep 229
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