Four Personal Suspects

[The Old LefHook]

When someone is markedly stronger or faster than everyone else in their sport, I get su****ious. Boxing, being the only sport I follow closely, is where most of my suspects hail from. My fourth suspect is Usain Bolt.

By way of circumstantial evidence let us note that in UFC every time someone has been vastly physically dominant over others his weight class, doping has been involved. Once exposed, Jon Jones cannot stay out of dope trouble. These guys know they are not nearly as good without their injections. They can feel that in training.

So who are my three boxing suspects? I have more than three, but I chose three that were truly physically dominant over their opponents in at least one category.

My three are Roy Jones, Julian Jackson...hell, my digression was so long I have forgotten the third. No matter. Keep it at those two. Jones was faster than anyone else and Jackson hit harder than anyone else.

Oh, yes, the fourth was Duran. These are four of my all time favorite athletes I have put under the glare of inspection.

Duran is not their for physical dominance, he is there as a possible example of 'roid rage. There has never been a great fighter as sneeringly vicious as Duran.

This is a more informed public than the one I could query at large. What do you guys think? Were any of these four on some kind of juice? If so, how extensively and for how long and how far back? Like I say, there are other suspects to choose from, but the four I have chosen were truly superior to mortal men, it once seemed, and so are prime suspects.

[GhostofDempsey]

I could see someone making a case for Jones. In fact I think there was more than just rumors circulating about his use of PEDs.

Duran was a partier. He did a lot of coke in his day. I think that would explain his rage and intensity.

It could be that Julian Jackson just had freakish punching power. Just like Shavers, Liston, Tony Zale, Bob Foster and other big punchers.

[Dempsey-Louis]

I was under the impression that Holyfield doping is considered a no brainer. (so say many Boxrec posters) - I never read much about him but they tell a story about a reporter who was following a lead regarding illegal steroid use, when the reporter called a phone number he had been given, for someone named Hollen (or something like that) Evander answered the phone.

If you look at the way Michael Spinks built up to HW and then compare that body to Holyfield's, it's looks like a no brainer to me. Spinks looked normal, Holyfield was juicing.

But it is all just speculation.

I don't see Duran in that group, he came along too early, back when it was only being used by the East German women's swim team.

I always thought Duran's drug of choice was Chivas Regal. - "If that guy was my neighbor, I'd move." Sugar Ray Leonard (1980)

[The Old LefHook]

Was Panama Lewis in Duran's corner at one time? If so, when and for how long?

[The Old LefHook]

One more question. Do trainers ever engage their boy in dishonest activities without his even becoming aware of it. Maybe by slipping some pep into his juice, or applying a bit of a hardener to the tape? Can such cheating in the fighter's favor occur without his even knowing it? Probably quite unlikely, but perhaps possible. In the old days such cheating would have been easier. There are other ways to consider than just the two examples I gave.

There do not seem to be a vast number of ways for a trainer to illegally boost his boy's chances. Am I wrong here?

[mickey malone]

I was under the impression that Holyfield doping is considered a no brainer. (so say many Boxrec posters) - I never read much about him but they tell a story about a reporter who was following a lead regarding illegal steroid use, when the reporter called a phone number he had been given, for someone named Hollen (or something like that) Evander answered the phone.

If you look at the way Michael Spinks built up to HW and then compare that body to Holyfield's, it's looks like a no brainer to me. Spinks looked normal, Holyfield was juicing.

But it is all just speculation.

I don't see Duran in that group, he came along too early, back when it was only being used by the East German women's swim team.

I always thought Duran's drug of choice was Chivas Regal. - "If that guy was my neighbor, I'd move." Sugar Ray Leonard (1980)

Yeh,I think you're right about Holyfield

[Eff Pandas]

In general - I don't believe that any of the true stand-outs in boxing are solely products of PED's.

I don't think anyone has had their success be solely PED based.

Too many mfers out there act like they think PEDs are like superpowers in a substance. You still gotta work. PEDs just give you quicker gains primarily & from my understanding thats usually via faster recovery.

One could argue you could probably get legally faster recovery from using ice baths & cryotherapy & sh^t like that that would probably give you a nice % of what an illegal substance would give you.

As to the OP I've never even considered Julian Jackson being PED'd up. I think he just had that ****** strength thing going on. Some cats are just gifted like that.

[GhostofDempsey]

One more question. Do trainers ever engage their boy in dishonest activities without his even becoming aware of it. Maybe by slipping some pep into his juice, or applying a bit of a hardener to the tape? Can such cheating in the fighter's favor occur without his even knowing it? Probably quite unlikely, but perhaps possible. In the old days such cheating would have been easier. There are other ways to consider than just the two examples I gave.

There do not seem to be a vast number of ways for a trainer to illegally boost his boy's chances. Am I wrong here?

It's possibly, but probably not likely. There have been fighters who have blamed tainted meat for positive PED tests, and a few who have suggested they don't know how a substance was found in their tests and attempt to throw coaching staff under the bus. I would think it would be easier to just try and fix a fight than to cheat to win, but, it didn't stop guys like Margarito, Pryor or Resto from cheating.

I guess the thing with PEDs is, if they could make Roy Jones fight the way he did, then everyone who took them would or should be able to do what he did, and that just isn't the case. I don't support PED use, but I liken it to baseball. PED's may help you get an extra twenty feet on a ball to make it a homerun, but you have to have the eyes and coordination to hit that fastball to begin with.

[Dempsey-Louis]

I guess the thing with PEDs is, if they could make Roy Jones fight the way he did, then everyone who took them would or should be able to do what he did, and that just isn't the case. I don't support PED use, but I liken it to baseball. PED's may help you get an extra twenty feet on a ball to make it a homerun, but you have to have the eyes and coordination to hit that fastball to begin with.

If we follow that dynamic, we are saying that anyone who wants to compete at the professional level has to put his health at risk with PEDs.

Someone who naturally has the ability to hit a fast ball still won't be able to deliver that extra twenty feet you speak of, teams will then only take guys using PEDs.

By looking the other way, saying its effects are negligible to the game, we would make its use unofficially mandatory.

[Irish Jet]

I don't think anyone has had their success be solely PED based.

Too many mfers out there act like they think PEDs are like superpowers in a substance. You still gotta work. PEDs just give you quicker gains primarily & from my understanding thats usually via faster recovery.

I agree that they are never the sole reason for success but I think you're downplaying their effects.

They can transform fighters. Physically and mentally. MMA/UFC has done a great job of exposing fighters that have clearly fought on/off something. Overreem, Belfort, Hendricks - The difference in them before/after is astounding. They are different fighters.

I believe they're rife in boxing and in pretty much all top level sports. Too much money at stake not to be seeking every advantage. When Tommy Morrison admitted to steroid use he said he thought that pretty much every HW of that era was on them and I'd agree. For that reason alone I don't see it as too much of a big deal as it's just ingrained with the sport, as well as many other sports.

As for prime suspects there'd be too many to name - Just about any outstanding track/field athlete. In boxing - Tyson, Holyfield, Jones Jr, Hopkins, Floyd, Pacquiao, Haye, Joshua, Marquez etc. list goes on. I'd expect they all took something at some point.