performance enhancers in boxing through the ages in boxing

[billeau2]

Diet was interesting. It was thought that beef steak cooked rare to medium was one of the best foods, again, in those days the blood in the meat, etc was thought to hold the nutrition. Of course we had the ideas about no sex before a fight and sleep.

The biggest change that I can see is the focus of what was to be enhanced: Modern steriod use, vitamin therapies, etc focus on the body as a whole. In those days the focus was on the tools of the trade...so to speak.

[joeandthebums]

Good topic but:

No Floyd Mayweather related posts in this thread! Go to NSB instead!

Intravenously fed medicine has been in boxing for over 60 years.

[Humean]

I imagine boxing follows the same trends as in other sports. So early twentieth century doping revolved around alcohol, caffeine, strychnine and opiates. From late 30s until today amphetamines have been very common, probably less today than they were in previous decades. Steroids from the 1950s onwards, HGH since the 80s and EPO in the 90s. Unfortunately few boxers of the past have given details of their doping, Tom Bogs is one of the few to admit that he used amphetamines.

[Anthony342]

Yeah, amphetamines must be major performance enhancers. I mean, I read an article recently somewhere that said that it was the banning of amphetamines in baseball that had more to do with the decline in homers and batting averages than the banning of steroids.

[AddiX]

Jack Demosey used Steel Wool in his face to make it tougher.

[The Old LefHook]

? where is there a floyd post here? Im confused?

Well, you see, the Barber of the village shaves all villagers who do not shave themselves. Does he shave himself?

[The Old LefHook]

Diet was interesting. It was thought that beef steak cooked rare to medium was one of the best foods, again, in those days the blood in the meat, etc was thought to hold the nutrition. Of course we had the ideas about no sex before a fight and sleep.

The biggest change that I can see is the focus of what was to be enhanced: Modern steriod use, vitamin therapies, etc focus on the body as a whole. In those days the focus was on the tools of the trade...so to speak.

Dempsey and other fighters of the era were known to soak their faces in brine to toughen the skin. Skin is definitely a tool of the trade.

Another performance enhancer is a rough, scratchy beard. On at least one occasion I remember a fighter being ordered to shave before a championship bout. I can't remember who it was, though it could have been Duran.

[billeau2]

Yeah, amphetamines must be major performance enhancers. I mean, I read an article recently somewhere that said that it was the banning of amphetamines in baseball that had more to do with the decline in homers and batting averages than the banning of steroids.

Baseball during the seventies....those guys were incredible consumers of various substances...first we had the gigantic wads of chaw...If anyone has ever dipped they would know the strength of those things....then we had the *******, the amphetamines....Bill Lee got his name the space man for allegedlly pitching a game while under the influence of LSD.

[billeau2]

Well, you see, the Barber of the village shaves all villagers who do not shave themselves. Does he shave himself?

take a piece of paper and cut it so you create two long strips. Each being about a foot and a half. Now on the first one, making sure the integrity of each strip side is maintained, make a big O and tape together at the end...trace a beginning and an end point and stop when you get to the end point...Easy enough?

Now take the other one grab each end, and give a half turn or so, got an infinity loop? good, tape, staple whatever...now trace a beginning and end point for when the structure stops at either strip side....Infinity is as infinity does! Moebus knows!!

[The Old LefHook]

Diet was interesting. It was thought that beef steak cooked rare to medium was one of the best foods

I love all those steak references in the film The Slums of Beverly Hills, which had nothing to do with boxing.

I guess the early version of getting health from a bottle was getting it from a steak. Now it's muscle from a syringe.

In terms of sports science, being able to take exact measurments of critical blood and nutrient component levels, and then tailoring certain levels to maximize output potential of the machine, would surely quailfy, as well.

I speculate that a type of genetic enhancement is next, to occur within forty years. That means that within twenty years the genetic enhancement will occur that allows some genetically enhanced human fighter to have a career forty years from now. The enhancements allowed into sports may be severely restricted, however, as such enhancements can be used and guarded as weapons, their immoderate usage restricted to police, national security and armed forces special units, perhaps.

Logically, one enhancement I expect to show up in sports at some point is altered slow/fast twitch fiber ratios in muscle. Someone will break the 9 second barrier in the hundred meter dash, and then the 8.

In combat sports and high contact sports, enhancements could be even more highly restricted and regulated, for obvious reasons, but surely we can expect them to begin showing up in some manner within a decade or so.

Eventually, it seems reasonable to expect that all official records in measuement-dependent sports will be held by human beings whose genetics are not 100% "natural." In other words, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

There is also an entirely natural way to do it which is much slower than medical intervention, and which of course has much lower limits, and that way is purposeful selective breeding in humans for particular traits, as is done with animals and has been for ever. Jimmy the Greek got in trouble, as in you're fired, for suggesting this experimental program had already been inadvertantly carried out. Whatever. The "unnatural" way will get there first, I am convinced.