Are steroids in boxing over-rated?

[MARKBNLV]

Agreed, im just wondering if we as boxing fans are turning somthing that has been around for decades into some sort of magical super pill. There is NO question they help, im just wondering how much they help.

A lot did you see Amir Khan last night

[Danny Gunz]

I agree, im just asking how much of a benefit do u think they give to a boxer. Only an idiot would say they arent a problem and dont benefit anyone. If they didnt help no one would use them. Im asking how much do they help?

It depends what you are talking about.

Anabolic steroids are pretty much made for someone to build muscle mass and weight. So a fighter going from 140 to 147 or something isnt going to do much with steroids unless they are planning on packing like 25 pounds.

HGH has yet to show it has ANY benefit in athletic fields.

EPO would help fights with their stamina

[Everywhere]

If you're talking anabolic steroids I think the benefit of them would be minimal for a sport like boxing. However, if you are talking EPO and other stamina boosting PEDs just look at how it has affecting other endurance sports like cycling. The benefits of increased stamina for training would be immense and carries over into the ring. There have been few if any studies published in the peer-reviewed medical journals regarding what these things actually do, so the science is still relatively unknown or speculative.

As an avid sports fan who lives in America, our exposure has been immense since BALCO. PEDs are discussed on an almost daily basis on ESPN and similar networks. So I think countries like America who have been hearing about designer PEDs for years would have a tendency to overestimate their benefits and/or usage throughout sports. Whereas if you live in say, Philippines, you wouldn't have had the same media exposure as an American and would have a tendency to underestimate their usage and/or benefit throughout sport.

Using Manny Pacquiao as an example, I believe it is quite clear that he is using some kind of EPO/HGH regimen. This has nothing to do with "take the test" although that does raise su****ion. Based on how he has moved up weight classes, increased his punch volumes, while seemingly not losing any speed, power or endurance. I personally don't buy into the excuses about he was killing himself to make weight (everyone is doing that) or the garbage about him being some malnourished Filipino kid. Maybe 15 years ago he was, but he has been training with Freddie Roach for over a decade. I somehow doubt there are any starving malnourished people training under Freddie Roach.

[Everywhere]

It depends what you are talking about.

Anabolic steroids are pretty much made for someone to build muscle mass and weight. So a fighter going from 140 to 147 or something isnt going to do much with steroids unless they are planning on packing like 25 pounds.

HGH has yet to show it has ANY benefit in athletic fields.

EPO would help fights with their stamina

This really has to do with the fact that there are just now being studies being conducted that will actually be published the peer-reviewed publications. But with the widespread usage of it, I think it can be generally accepted that the athletes themselves feel some benefit from using an HGH regimen. It could just be a placebo effect, or it might not be.

[Clegg]

It's hard to say because none of us know just who is taking what, and very, very few of us understand the effects that all of these different substances have on the human body. In some instances it seems like even the experts may not fully know because of how quickly new PEDs are created.

Based upon the cases I know of, I don't think the effects have been particularly impressive.

I don't think Shane or Vargas looked any better for their fights with DLH than in the rest of their careers. Shane actually looked worse in the rematch. But of course, I am assuming that the only time they took drugs, they got found out. It's more likely that they did it for other fights but were able to get away with it.

If Holyfield was using steroids throughout his career then I do believe they helped him add lean muscle to his frame and become a more effective heavyweight. With Toney it's harder to say, but it seems like his aim was to add muscle in order to be bigger and stronger considering how undersized he was at HW. I'm not sure to what extent that worked, I think the Toney that beat Jirov would've beat John Ruiz. But who knows? And perhaps he was on something for the Jirov fight as well, although I really hope that isn't the case.

Roy Jones and Stevie Johnston both seemed to get a pass and I guess it comes down to what you choose to believe about their test results. But if they were taking anything, it was during the highest points of their careers and so that would certainly suggest the effectiveness of PEDs.

You raise an interesting point about steroids being more useful for some sports than others. Maybe they don't work as well in boxing, or maybe we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. I'm undecided.

[Everywhere]

To add on to my original response, I sort of digressed from my Cycling-Boxing analogy. It was clear to other cyclists that Lance Armstrong was doing something illegal. He would just blow the competition away in the mountain stages of the Tour De France. Sure he hasn't been "caught" yet but it seems to be widely accepted that Armstrong was cheating. I would compare the mountain stages of the race to being similar to the last 4 rounds of a boxing match. If this guy is blowing the competition away in the most grueling part of a race, it might just be su****ious. If a guy is going 12 rounds without showing any type of slowing down, that is pretty su****ious as well.

[Clegg]

To add on to my original response, I sort of digressed from my Cycling-Boxing analogy. It was clear to other cyclists that Lance Armstrong was doing something illegal. He would just blow the competition away in the mountain stages of the Tour De France. Sure he hasn't been "caught" yet but it seems to be widely accepted that Armstrong was cheating. I would compare the mountain stages of the race to being similar to the last 4 rounds of a boxing match. If this guy is blowing the competition away in the most grueling part of a race, it might just be su****ious. If a guy is going 12 rounds without showing any type of slowing down, that is pretty su****ious as well.

Boxers had 12+ round stamina before steroids existed.

[Everywhere]

Boxers had 12+ round stamina before steroids existed.

Yes they did, but look at how gassed they get and how wild their punches can get. Nobody was coming out of a 15 round brawl and having a concert 20 years ago.

[straightleft]

This is not a pacquiao mayweather thread, please repeat ur repetitive arguments somewhere else. I just want to know ur opinion on steroids and their place in boxing. There are two major points ive been thinking about.

1) I think its clear roids dont have the same benefits across every sport. In baseball its plainly obvious they do a great deal of help. But u never even hear about them in basketball, where increased muscle mass can be a hindrance. I pretty much assume the majority of football players roided up so im not going to mention it. What effect do u think roids have on boxers? How much do u think they benefit?

The reason i ask is really zab judah. The guy works with vic conte (the roid super hero), comes out ripped as ***, and cant even make it six rounds??? Then u have the vargez example, plenty of talent, plenty of roids, lack luster results. Im completely convinced roids have a noticeable impact on a boxers performance, so dont misunderstand me. All im asking is how much of a benefit do u think is there? I think its plainly obvious they dont turn u into superman. U dont just start walking through punches. They cant take a looser and turn them into a winner.

I think roids are a BIG problem in boxing and the testing methods need immediate improvement. But i also think we as boxing fans are getting carried away with the impression that roids alone can turn u into some sort of unstoppable terminator. U thoughts?

There is NO PED in this world would make your chin hard as steel, will power with heart of stone nor supernatural speed and punching power. PED may allow you to train more but why put yourself at risk to the side effect when you can get a better result if you just work your ass off? PED will only benefit those who needs extra muscles but will only make you slow.

[straightleft]

If you're talking anabolic steroids I think the benefit of them would be minimal for a sport like boxing. However, if you are talking EPO and other stamina boosting PEDs just look at how it has affecting other endurance sports like cycling. The benefits of increased stamina for training would be immense and carries over into the ring. There have been few if any studies published in the peer-reviewed medical journals regarding what these things actually do, so the science is still relatively unknown or speculative.

As an avid sports fan who lives in America, our exposure has been immense since BALCO. PEDs are discussed on an almost daily basis on ESPN and similar networks. So I think countries like America who have been hearing about designer PEDs for years would have a tendency to overestimate their benefits and/or usage throughout sports. Whereas if you live in say, Philippines, you wouldn't have had the same media exposure as an American and would have a tendency to underestimate their usage and/or benefit throughout sport.

Using Manny Pacquiao as an example, I believe it is quite clear that he is using some kind of EPO/HGH regimen. This has nothing to do with "take the test" although that does raise su****ion. Based on how he has moved up weight classes, increased his punch volumes, while seemingly not losing any speed, power or endurance. I personally don't buy into the excuses about he was killing himself to make weight (everyone is doing that) or the garbage about him being some malnourished Filipino kid. Maybe 15 years ago he was, but he has been training with Freddie Roach for over a decade. I somehow doubt there are any starving malnourished people training under Freddie Roach.

****** *****nk. Pac is known for his stamina since day one and stamina alone will not bring Pac where he is today. Pac has will power, determination, heart, chin, speed and power, you may call it a gifts or inborn. These little things when you put together are the most powerful weapon in boxing. You may have all the money in this world to buy the most powerful PED but there are many things you can't buy with money like courage, bravery, detemination, etc..that you can only acquire through early hardship in your life and so the gift like speed and power you have or will never have. Hopefully you are not so ****** to understand this.