He was "allegedly" taking HGH - Human Growth Hormone.. Not steroids. But I don't think it was ever proven. Apparently an online subscriber under the name " Evan Fields with a similar address to Evander's ordered them over the internet. When the corresponding phone number was called, Holyfield answered the phone himself, but denied ever having ordered them... Fishy? Absolutely. But I don't think he was ever proven guilty..
For the sake of fairness, I prefer to take the best versions of each: Steroid Evander vs. Blinding Ointment Liston.
"...And you will know my name is The Lord!" He says that at the staredown. You should have put that at the end, you know? You know? Yeah, you know.
That's real cute and all..very moving, but let's get back from fantasy to reality. Throw away this mystical crap and take a look at the technical/physical aspects of the fight. Liston wins.
Haven't you guys watched Bowe-Holyfield series? Holyfield can't cope with a long armed powerful fighter with big uppercuts, and amazing inside fighting ability...all which apply to Sonny Liston + more because Liston was better than Bowe. What in Sonny Liston's prime makes you think a natural 190lb come forward combination punching workhorse could possibly slug it out with Liston and make it out alive? We saw an aging Liston get outsped, outboxed by a dancing darling Muhammad Ali. We also saw the fast combination punchers with power..Floyd Patterson/Cleveland Williams who came into Liston and got utterly destroyed early. Evander's downfall in this fight is going to be his heart. His big heart will get him destroyed.
Evander made weight at 190, though. His first heavyweight fight was at 202 lbs with pretty much zero body fat, and I doubt he needed steroids to "bulk up" to that level. He could have eaten eight pounds of cheeseburgers to beef up to 210 and still had lower body fat (and greater height) than a prime Liston. (I don't mean to imply that Liston was even remotely overweight; Holyfield just had freakishly low levels of fat. Both men were about the same size).
Liston had naturally big frame with super-heavyweight dimensions, holyfield was a beefed up cruiserweight...
holyfield didn't back down to bullies and found even great jabs slippable. i think the pendulum is switching a bit towards overrating liston at times. he was brilliant and a case (not the best) but a case can be made for top 10 all time against holyfield he's taking an all time great chin, all time great will, all time great left hook and tremendous boxing ability. it's not an issue call but personally, i think holyfield fought a more varied array of elite opponents (coming out ahead in most) and neither fought an exact comparison style. bowe can't compare with liston for a variety of reasons but i see holyfield EVENTUALLY slipping the jab consistently and taking a MD over 15
btw: until people prove holyfield takes steroids, he's no less a cheater than Daredevil causing ointment Liston. enough with that ****
Perhaps. I could easily see Liston bulk up to Rahman-size with proper training. But we're not discussing the amount of muscle that Liston could have supported if he'd used modern weights and supplements. We're talking about Liston's and Holyfield's respective sizes as they actually existed, and when you consider those versions, Holyfield carried at least as much muscle mass as Liston. It's not as if muscle gained from resistance training is fake; it doesn't deflate when you punch too hard. As he actually existed, Holyfield's weight, strength, and muscles were just as real as Liston's.
I wonder if Holyfield said that right before impregnating all the women he fathered kids with out of wedlock! The Lord does work in mysterious ways!
He's building his holy army through him. Baby Evander Holyfields are being born everywhere all the time. One day, they will rise up and conquer all in their unstoppable march to righteousness. :good