HE WAS A drugs cheat! sure steroids dont make you throw a beter jab, roll and slip punches in the classy way toney did but it does explain how a lazy, talented slob who had been in limbo for years can find top form suddenly..... why if tony tubbs started juicing up would that make him an ATG?
I agree. He's a memorable fighter despite having a lot of close decisions and losses he shouldn't have. One thing that i've always considered remarkable is the contrast between him outside of the ring and inside of it. He talks a lot of smack, which i'm not really charmed by, but in the ring, he's one of the cleanest boxers i've ever seen. What's more, he keeps talking about "i'ma knock you out and yo mamma", but then his style is a pure, skilled boxer's one. The contrast is fascinating.
The problem with Toney all along was that he knew his skills were so far superior to most fighters so he always thought he could get by on his natural ability. Its a common mistake for naturally gifted fighters, because they find themselves getting outhustled by lessor fighters that came to fight in shape.
How? Was he ripped and knocking guys out? The guy always looked like he was eating brownie sundaes through his training camps, he never punched hard, and had a proven track record for fighting distance fights with only sparring to prepare for a fight. How did steroids help him, besides being used to repair an existing injury? Toney, 36, denied taking any performance enhancing drugs. "Being accused of taking performance enhancing substances is an insult to me. I don't do drugs period," Toney said in a statement. "I've never used any illegal substances to prepare myself for a fight." In a fight last fall, Toney severely injured his biceps and triceps. Co-promoter Dan Goossen said Toney's treatment for the injury was to blame for the positive result. "Toney received medical treatment for recovery from his biceps and triceps surgery last year," Goossen said in a statement. "His doctor has stated that the combination of medications used to control the inflammation and tissue growth caused the positive test result. This is further supported, since the body, in combination with the medications, naturally create the form of substance reflected in the test results. "It would be unjust for the sport to reprimand a fighter who was under a doctor's care and direction many months before in healing a career threatening injury."
thats what they all say. he wasnt geting tired like he should have. his focus was sharp. juice up tony tubbs and hed win a title 10 years later too. he was a cheat.
The "i used them to heal from an injury" excuse. Classic. Ah well, as long as they are people gullible enough to swallow that..
It just doesnt fit the physique. Look at Fernando Vargas someone with a similar body style to Toney, he actually looked like what he was accused of doing in the DLH fight. Toney still looked like an oompa loompa.
Doesnt say he used steroids, it says the combination of the medications caused the positive test. There are different types of steroids you know. You can get a steroid for your eyes or a skin condition or more commonly to heal a torn muscle or tendon.
the point is toneys career was in limbo for years. lazy talented guy but going nowhere.... then all of a sudden, as if by magic the results improve, hes tireless in fights even though hes got man boobies. he was cheating nature for sure.
Im not trying to make excuses for the guy, but he had some personal problems around the second Griffin fight, going through a divorce, separating from his manager and generally lost his will to box. Im sure you can pull a lot of articles off the web around that time where he seemed to rededicate himself to the sport after he got past his personal problems. Either way hes an ATG in my book, but definitely could have done a lot more, like so many fighters. Anyone who boxes and trains knows how pitifully monotones it can become.
You have to admit, if he used steroids to keep in shape, he would be a pretty pitiful sight without those steroids!
the thing is, these drugs also make you more alert and able to focus as well as all the other stuff like go through pain etc. ben johnson was reacting to the gun quicker etc...its not just about being ripped and cut. the advantages of drug use is more than nature. its unacceptable if drug use enhances a legacy.