The last traditionally trained elite heavyweight?

He was taking Thyrolar which was prescribed by a physician for a thyroid condition he didn't have. I wonder how much he lost after Spinks 2. He was washed but not as washed as the Ali who showed up at Caesars. That Ali would have lost a wide decision.

 

Yeah he was abusing Thyorolar before the Holmes fight to get down to 217 and he got crucified that night, at leat against Berbick which he weighed 236 he was able to move and defend himself. I would't call Ali's abuse of a thyroid medication a PED. Now Vitali Klitschko use anabolic steroids preparing for an Olympic Competion, and got disqualified, and younger brother Wlad got the gold in the 96 Olympics, noawadays who really knows?

 

He looked great against Holmes until the fight began. At the end of the day he was done but there had to be a happy medium between the artificially fit Ali and the overweight guy who fought Berbick.

 

Lol before the fight began, after that he was shouting profanily against Holmes, his only form of offence. At least against Berick I actually had him winning a round and I think 2-3 rounds were even.

 

I knew a guy who was at one of the loungues at Ceasars with Rahman and Cassius Senior the night before the fight. He said Rahman wasn't drinking as you would expect from a Muslim but Senior was and he was with two women, neither one was Odessa. He said Senior was a gas.

 

It was a PED. Clenbuterol is fairly similar but has few of the side effects. If Ali had ramped his thyroid levels right up to the edge of the upper limit, it would've helped with weight loss and energy levels. He overdid it and burned out.

 

PEDs don't necessarily mean anabolic steroids but literally "performance enhancers", so pills and the like which either boost your metabolism or increase endurance would definitely fall under that.

I remember reading some trainer slipped asthma medication into his boxers water he used in between rounds, in the belief it would open up his lungs and help his endurance.

 

I believe Panama Lewis did that with ephedrine, which is similar to adrenaline.

 

In Klitschko's time testing would catch steroid laden anti-inflammation creams too. These creams/gels were available in Ali's time but nobody tested for it.

 

Ephedrine is like weak speed. It isn't adrenaline.

 

All three have similar effects. You're right in terms of chemical structure.

 

I wish ephedrine hadn't been made illegal. It was an awesome training supplement. Back when it was legal, I used to pop a couple in the morning before running. Definitely put more pep in my step and kept my appetite down.

Of course, I'm not an athlete, so who cares what some average joe does to try to stay in halfway decent shape.

 

Sudafed isl almost the same thing and still sold over the counter.

 

It wasn't for strength or endurance, it was for losing weight rapidly.
Taking it actually hurt him. He had no energy for
the fight.

 

When I lived in Albuquerque in the late 90s, my co-workers and I decided to hike to the summit of Sandia Peak. I went to the local REI to pick up some Gatorade powder to throw in my water bottle … I saw some powdered stuff with Ma Huang listed as an ingredient but had no idea what it was; I picked it up as something new to try.

I utterly smoked the nine mile trail, hit the 10,000 foot peak like it was a parking lot, came back down and was ready to do it again. Didn’t get to sleep until 3am … whatever the hell was in that stuff was awesome, but a little scary. Never again -