How would Ernie Terrell do today?

Exactly. It's the modern way.

 

You tell the truth. but you cannot pretend that the kinds of benefits that are achieved today as fighters alter their body shape for individual assignments were always achieved when Ruby Robert and the toy bulldog were bulking up.

 

But didn't Walker gain mostly fat, though? He didn't look very trim when he campaigned at HW from memory.

But of course it's not black and white. You could gain weight back in the day as well, but it has become easier with modern training methods that include weights, and of course steroids have done their part also.

 

It's hard not to believe they are quite in use among many weight climbers.

 

You never know maybe there was PEDs back in the day since Ruby Robert had a full head of ginger hair before he "bulked up"?

 

It's very, very hard to know when the use of steroids started. No one tested positive before the 90's as far as I know, but on the other hand there wasn't much testing being done, so...

But the really ripped and bulky physiques surely became a more common feature during the 80's. That's my feeling at least. But hard to say anything really conclusive here. It seems like steroids (according to Wikipedia) was first produced in the 30's, so theoretically it could already have been in use during Louis's time. Since there was no testing back then, we can't say much for sure. What we have to go on is mostly what we think we can infer from differences in size and physiques.

 

I think it took a long time for PEDs to move into big time boxing because too much money is at steak. I mean, there always would have been all sorts of stuff going on that was illegal but there really was a dislike of a fighter being too rigid and musclebound and that goes way way back and must have been hard to convince the old school guys.

Boxing has always been run as a business. The fighters come and go but the guys running things don't.

The way I see it, you have to think like the criminal who is trying to introduce something unproven into a very old combat discipline steeped in all sorts of traditions. On the one hand illegal shenanigans are a part of that tradition. and on the other hand you have to get past respected and proud trainers With reputations to maintain.

Remember that old story about the eye ointment? Every camp was approached by the guy selling that stuff, it wasn't taken up many times and so far as I know only two world heavyweight fights featured blinded boxers and they wound up winning!