How prevalent do you think PED use is in boxing

For lennox. It'd be pretty difficult for him to hit such a small target and Marciano had relentless Stamina and bone breaking power so it's easy to envision him hurting lewis with power punches over the course of the fight. Lewis would have a gargantuan reach advantage but it'd be rough for Lewis if the rock got past it. Remember a fat qawi was able to go 7 rounds with foreman. And I get that old man foreman isn't anywhere near lewis' league. Marciano is on a different plane compared to that Qawi. I wouldn't be shocked if the fight was very competitive.

Usyks gas tank isn't as good as Rocky's. The rock threw 94 punches in round 15 against ezzard Charles. Usyk isn't going to outthrow him. Rocky us by far the harder puncher. Yes Usyk has hurt big men. However Rocky actually destroyed his opponents with his power. He knocked 6'2 214lbs Joe Louis to the other side of the ring with one brutal punch and then when Louis got up he punched him through the ropes and out of the ring out of the ring yes Louis was past prime but he was still beating contenders, He disfigured Walcott's face. Battered Lastarza's arms so badly that he had ruptured blood vessels and bone damage. Knocked Carmine Vingo into a coma, Knocked Rex layne out cold shearing off 4 teeth in the process. Marciano had freakish power for his size. Usyk has a granite chin so I can see him holding up but he'll be bruised along the way. mentally, Rocky is one of the toughest fighters in boxing. He had a disgusting cut against ezzard charles in the second fight and was in danger of being stopped but secured the KO. Blinded by his own corner and managed to survive through it and knock him out cold with one of the picture perfect knock outs you'll ever see. Usyk isn't knocking Rocky out. So he'll have to beat him on the cards.

 

I think it's much lower as it used to be, but still a significant part of the sport.
Your lowest option is about what I expected it to be, but you could have had all options from 10 to 100% with steps from 10 in the poll.
I also think that a large portion of the "they're all on it" crowd had one or more of their favorite boxers getting busted, to use it as a cop-out.

There's also a using vs using what and how much difference that's very important.
You hardly see Holyfield levels of using anymore, with exceptions like Jarrell "big pharma" Miller.
Testing in boxing is still at a very low level, certainly in the lower ranks, compared to other big sports. But at least it's hard to prevent getting busted when going full Holyfield nowadays.
It has become much better in the last decades, but it's still feeble and the punishment is almost non-existent.

How is Miller still in the sport?
He had to flee from kickboxing to boxing after getting busted, then got busted multiple times on the entire pharmacy while in boxing and only got slaps on the wrist for it.
And we've seen other big name users getting celebrated afterwards, like Canelo and Fury, while on the gear around the time when they had their biggest successes.

But to get back on the what is used nowadays and how much part, as I think it's important.
Today you can't just blatantly use steroids and growth hormone like in the old days without getting caught, so they have to use less potent stuff and less of it too (microdosing), plus they have to know when to stop and start using it too to not be detected.
So the effects are there but certainly way less as the roidmonsters of the 80's and 90's.

 

I think most guys will be at least on something to help with recovery and strength. I mean how many boxers are even part of effective testing schemes? And even then a lot of them only enroll for one fight, surely in the off time they are using PEDs to help build up their base and having it clear the system before a fight.

With millions of dollars on the line and the consequences being relatively minimal, missing a fight or two for a first offense, I just can't see why fighters wouldn't do it, especially when they get to the higher levels and have the money and support structures to properly implement drug regimens.

There is a chance that fighters like Joseph Parker were initially clean coming from New Zealand where PED use is far less common than in the US or UK, and he didn't have any telltale signs or performances to show it. Though he definitely was on gear after joining the Fury camp.

Overall there is lots of opportunity for fighters to use PEDs without any risk of being caught, there is heaps of money to be made and especially at the higher level the difference between a win and loss can be marginal, plus there is minimal consequences for being caught. So its understanable to expect most pro fighters to be using PEDs.

 

i've been of the belief that those on the come up are the ones on it. how much testing is at a town hall show for 6 rounders?

the idea that people are using steroids in the ring is pointless. its in the training, its in the prep. getting caught with roids in a fight exposes how poor their team is at flushing it out. that being said. injuries and recovery is the main point.

edit: also. i think there is a dodgy fine line to what is considered PEDs. most agencies now are not looking for the chemical itself but the agents used to mask it. its always playing catch up.

 

I think for me as a layman it is hard to estimate. It is always enlightening when someone points things out, though.

Looking at how klitschko's muscles and whole body structure developed since his beginnings as a fighter is unreal. Same with canelo. Also canelo rehydrates insane amounts, haney too.
Then I was impressed with the rodriguez win against yafai but in hindsight it seemed obvious that that Performance was too strong. Then again in yafai's fight against edwards I was suspicious as somehow even edward's best punches could not deter yafai at all (and they were good) while yafai somehow seemed like a power puncher who knocks people out (which he wasn't before) so I am still not sure what to think about that.

 

Not all PEDs are banned

 

Been prevalent since early to mid 1990’s. Look at the list of fighters that have tested positive it’s a who’s who of boxing. Let’s also not forget until about 2000 the testing was an absolute joke so no telling who all never got caught. Testing today can still be circumvented by knowledgeable experts.

 

Caffeine is one of the top PEDs around, pretty much everyone is on it and it definitely improves performance.

But I take the question in this case to mean illegal or prohibited PEDs.

 

I would argue creatine is a PED too. Taken properly that stuff can do wonders for the human body.

 

It's been rampant for a long time at this point. Prevalent since the 1980's/1990's if I had to guess.

An early George Foreman opponent, Bob Hazelton, lost a leg due to steroid abuse that he was candid about. He fought Foreman in 1969. Think about that for a moment... A guy who wasn't even a blip in heavyweight boxing even during his own time was a steroid abuser in the 1970's. The most this guy ever weighed WITH steroids, at 6'7, was 222 pounds, in the Bob Foster rematch.

Look at later fighters like Tommy Morrison, or read Jameel McCline's interview on drug use within the sport during his era if you for some reason need even more proof. These guys aren't just taking one drug either, they're taking cocktails of stuff to perform.

 

I put all of them, meaning I believe everyone at the highest level is.
Think about why, in sports like cycling and athletics it’s rampant, in boxing if you lose, you’re not just coming second or third, you could potentially be killed. There aren’t going to be any guys at the highest level not taking stuff.
If you were a high level boxer are you going to be comfortable on bread and water knowing your opponents are almost certainly on all kinds of help ?

In the lower levels, I’m not sure, your local four or six rounders could be just as bad, as said already because of lack of testing.
As I’ve said already it’s one reason I just can’t take high level sport that seriously, football was ruined years ago with so much money.
Boxing the best rarely fight the best and when they do they’re often not prime, who knows who’s on what, etc.
It’s all just become more business than sport.
Anyway , enough cynicism for today

 

Nearly everyone is doing something.

 

I said 70% because there are some guys who I believe aren’t on the juice. Realistically I’d say it’s more like 90%.

Of the elite guys, I’d say they’re all on it and you need to be to be able to hang with them.