Flashback...Roid Jones, Jr: The Steroid Scandal

[The Old LefHook]

Well Left, I'm afraid this goes back all the way to the 60s, possibly even further. Some of the first fellas who failed the 'eye test' were Sonny Liston and Cleveland Williams.

Explain, please.

[BKM-]

Explain, please.

Sir I do not have a problem with anyone who disagrees but it is my belief(and that of many others actually) that performance enhancing drugs started and became prominent in all top level sports before even the middle of the 20th century.

They weren't even found out untill then when it was already extremely widespread especially in the olympics, and as we know Boxing has always been linked to the olympics. What's worse is they didn't drug test for it untill the 90s, steroids were legal before that too btw.

I think there is a clear difference of physiques between early 20th century boxers, who had amazing genetics but did not display those capped deltoids, blown up traps and upperchest, or that veiny dryness that just doesn't look natural. Unlike some of the top boxers starting in the 50s-60s and onward.

The names I mentioned earlier had a "modern look" to their bodies, and I won't be convinced that it was because of better training methods because Boxing would not include weight lifting and muscle building untill much later. And an important note here is that Boxers don't use PED's for muscle mass(unless rare cases such as Evan Fields) the main point is to recover much quicker from the brutal training. But take enough of it and it will show up on your body, no question.

[OctoberRed]

Wasn't there a fight where both Jones and his opponent got popped for PEDs?

If I recall it got swept under the rug real quick.

[Anthony342]

Then doesn't that pretty much make it an even playing field, if they both juiced?

[ShoulderRoll]

All drugs need to be legalized anyway. Some places have done it already and it has gone pretty well. A guy even wrote a book about it.

If I want to be a pro boxer why should I have to take steroids to be able to compete?

[The Old LefHook]

Sir I do not have a problem with anyone who disagrees but it is my belief(and that of many others actually) that performance enhancing drugs started and became prominent in all top level sports before even the middle of the 20th century.

They weren't even found out untill then when it was already extremely widespread especially in the olympics, and as we know Boxing has always been linked to the olympics. What's worse is they didn't drug test for it untill the 90s, steroids were legal before that too btw.

I think there is a clear difference of physiques between early 20th century boxers, who had amazing genetics but did not display those capped deltoids, blown up traps and upperchest, or that veiny dryness that just doesn't look natural. Unlike some of the top boxers starting in the 50s-60s and onward.

The names I mentioned earlier had a "modern look" to their bodies, and I won't be convinced that it was because of better training methods because Boxing would not include weight lifting and muscle building untill much later. And an important note here is that Boxers don't use PED's for muscle mass(unless rare cases such as Evan Fields) the main point is to recover much quicker from the brutal training. But take enough of it and it will show up on your body, no question.

I didn't say I disagreed, I asked for more information. I know the Russians were at it pretty early with their gymnasts. In fact, boxers built like gymnasts is more or less the phenomenon you are talking about between early 20th century and mid to late 20th century in boxers' bodies, I think.

One of the more muscular boxers I can think of was Rubin Carter. His traps and deltoids looked like a steroid body. Young Holyfield too. Emile Griffith. I have seen photos of old time strongmen from the 1920's and before whose business was muscle, but they didn't have the defined musculature of some of these modern boxers.

I assume that since one can recover from brutal workouts quicker with juice, that also means one can push harder and a little longer and still be recovered in time to perform at maximal level.

I have seen these bodies around from the 50's and 60's, too, and wondered about them. For a fact the eastern block countries were into steroids. That is why their female gymnasts from that era now have beards.

Would it even be shocking to learn that many or most of our greatest boxing idols were juiced to their gills?

At least I don't think Mickey Walker was on PED. I feel safe that Tunney and Langford were not.

[Anthony342]

If I want to be a pro boxer why should I have to take steroids to be able to compete?

You don't have to. But you should have the option to if you wanted.

[Anthony342]

Yeah or Butterbean or Tony Galento.

[ShoulderRoll]

You don't have to. But you should have the option to if you wanted.

Why?

Why can't it just be a test of how far fighters can go naturally, without synthetic (and toxic) assistance?

[Bundana]

One of the more muscular boxers I can think of was Rubin Carter. His traps and deltoids looked like a steroid body. Young Holyfield too. Emile Griffith. I have seen photos of old time strongmen from the 1920's and before whose business was muscle, but they didn't have the defined musculature of some of these modern boxers.

Emile Griffith??

We don't all start out with the same type of body. Griffith just happened to have that extremely wide back and shoulders... and placed on top of a tiny, tiny waist, it resulted in a fantastic V-shaped upper body.

But apart from that, he was rather delicately build - and not really heavily muscled or massive at all. I would be surprised if he was on steroids!