Without PED would Evander Holyfield have been as successul in the heavyweight division as was?

Many before but not as many? Clearly because of both many more people. Many more weight training. Better science for that & nutrition. And PEDs.

How far shoould boxers stray from those guidelines between generation? It does not matter.
The guidelines merely represent what bone & muscle mass the vast majority of ordinary men have-at a certain body weight.
I am fervently against PEDs. And there is a point of diminishing returns or worse for fighters. That level varies between individuals,
The ratio can differ due to individual characteristics such as bone structure, useful muscle mass, how well someone can adapt or benefit from a certain bulk given their style...

It is a bit easier to know body fat levels when most everyone has a certain amount of muscle.
But with guys like Tyson wearing only boxing trunks-& he even posed in skimpy underwear for weigh ins-it is not hard to have a good idea of what body fat level they had.
Even Wass only gave me a 3% higher rate than I had for Tyson.
And if he acknowledged the undeniable-that even if your far amount is the same, if you have more bone & muscle, you can have a lower % than a guy on the charts who is way lighter-then he would likely completely concur!

 

watch his ability in the ring, as you would with anyone.