Did Roy Jones get his amazing speed from abusing PED`s?

As far as I can tell, there's really no basis whatsoever to think that Roy Jones got his amazing speed from PEDs.

 

Roy was what happened when you took an elite athlete to start with and juiced him out. Much like Olympian sprinters or lifters. You need to be a freak to start with to get the most out of the chemistry.

 

I've seen a case for him being on some sort of PEDs but I think it was legal at the time. I'd say if anything was being benefitted from him being on PEDs it's his weight management, which could also just be diet like Steward said, or his stamina.

 

I don't think that's how PEDs work.

 

I'd say about 1% of it was the minor amount of PEDs he was using

With about 50% talent and 49% hard work, of course

 

They made his already amazing speed better.

Why else would Olympic sprinters use them?

 

That’s not why. They don’t make runners faster directly. They allow them to train harder because recovery time is shorter and muscles repair quicker from hard training. If they didn’t have natural talent for running fast in the first place, no amount of PEDs would help.

 

Jones definitely used PEDs in his bout with Hall, but handspeed doesn't work like that.

 

Do steroids make their reflexes faster though? Sprinting speed and boxing speed are two completely different things.

 

'However, research with frogs has shown that anabolic steroids can enhance androgen receptors on nerve endings, so there’s some potential for increased reactions.'
Found this from a quick search. Interview with Jay Hoffman, a PhD level of exercise science and professor in health an exercise science. He was a football player and used roids himself. No medical sources are given, however, so it seems debatable.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-rod-steroids-better-athlete/

 

That's why I posted that you need to already be at a certain level to get the most from them. The entire point is to take people who are already suited for a particular talent and then maximize it with the right PED and right training regime.

Roy is one of those people. I don't see why there's much debate as to whether they helped him or not. They won't make a horrible athlete great, but they can help make a special athlete phenomenal.

 

Yes and No.
He'd be remarkably fast without the PEDs.
But the PEDs would have made him a bit faster, of course.