Was George Foreman On Steroids?

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Withso many pro athletes in their 40s being closely scrutinized these daysfor using steroids to prolong their careers, it made me wonderquite a bit about someone that I`ve never heard accused of it: George Foreman.


Yes, he had a spare tire during his second career. But he also had abnormal muscular development that I find hard to believe came only from hard work in the weight room in early middle age. I don`t think there is any doubt that steroid use was rampant in the heavyweight division from the late `80s to thelate `90s when Foremanwas supposedly stunning the sports world with his amazing power and stamina.


George Foreman was an outstanding boxer his first time around. But did he have a chemically-enhanced second career?

 

[mrjohnnynofear]

I don't think it was steroids for George's case. The guy was just a naturally strong man. In the fight with Moorer he had no stamina at all and almost passed out in that ring but his punch that KO'ed Moorer was an amazing shot. It looked like nothing but on the replay you could see it split his mouthpiece and bust his lip. That was an amazing shot. The last thing a boxer loses is his power. Duran was still knocking out folks in his mid 40s too because of it. I don't think George used them but if he did, he sure in the heck didn't need it.

 

[white is right]

If I saw the physique of the young Foreman today I would think roids. But in his era steroids were viewed as a thing for weightlifters and bodybuilders. So his natural physique from the 70's just aged into a 40 something version of that body.

 

[Alpha Male]

The truth is no one really knows. But there is no doubt that alot of the boxers from the early 90's were on them. Tyson's physique was just incredible, and I remember in one interview he had horrific acne all over his face. Kind of a late puberty spurt huh Mike.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/fotos/tyson444.jpgEdited by: Alpha Male

 

[Maple Leaf]

The truth is no one really knows. But there is no doubt that alot of the boxers from the early 90's were on them. Tyson's physique was just incredible, and I remember in one interview he had horrific acne all over his face. Kind of a late puberty spurt huh Mike.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/fotos/tyson444.jpg

That photo you linked is very telling. They didn't get those physiques doing push-ups! Those two were/are roiders.



About George: There is no way of knowing if he did or not. His physique at any time in his career looked appropriate for an athlete doing his kind of training. But he may or may not have taken roids for muscular endurance. His re-emergence in his fourties was something never heard at the time as mother nature just would not allow it so suspicion is warranted here.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

About George: There is no way of knowing if he did or not. His physique at any time in his career looked appropriate for an athlete doing his kind of training. But he may or may not have taken roids for muscular endurance. His re-emergence in his fourties was something never heard at the time as mother nature just would not allow it so suspicion is warranted here.


As Maple Leaf says above, this is the point I`m also trying to make here. We know so many guys were on `roidsin the `90s-includingEvander "Evan Fields"Holyfield. AlphaMale`s link shows Holyfield and Tyson withphysiques thatjust don`t happen without chemical enhancement.


Obviously Foreman`s body changed in many ways because of age. Also,weight training became an essential part of a boxer`s training by the time of Foreman`s second career.


I know Foreman was known for his tremendous poweras a young fighter. But I simply find it hard to believe-nomatter how talented the boxer-that somebody can come back after a 10-year layoff and still fight the way he did in his forties without "outside help", and I`m not talking about the preacher`s prayers beinganswered.

 

[white is right]

Steroid use in heavyweight boxing exploded in the early 90's. Way back in 95' Bobby Czyz accused Holyfield of juicing and was treated as a pariah by the boxing community. A former sparring partner of Trevor Berbick told me he juiced, I have heard rumours that Ruddock juiced, Tua and Golota both gained huge size gains under the Duvas. Roid Jones was caught in a fight against Richard Hall and it was swept under the rug. He gained pure muscle for the Ruiz fight in 4 months(not physically possible). Lennox Lewis gained huge size late in his career and it was mostly muscle. In the amateurs Vitali Klitschko was caught and was banned by the Ukranian federation prior to the Atlanta Olympics. Also both Botha and Toney have been caught after winning championship belts.Ps Tyson definately juiced post prison he came out of prison being a small cruiserweight and in 5 months was about 30 pounds heavier for the Mcneely fight.Edited by: white is right

 

[Guest]

Well whatever he was on, he sure beat the hell out of Gerry Cooney when those two fought. I actually paid money for that one, and kicked myself right in the you-know-what right after. I should have known: one of the most powerful heavyweight punchers of all time with either hand vs. one of the worst heavyweight chins of all time. Duuh, what was I thinking.


Yeah, I suppose nowadays anything's possible, so yeah, Foreman could have been on something. But it's just as plausible that Foreman just ate a lot of beef, even before he signed on to promote his griller thingamajig.


Speaking of fighters being on substances, we might as well throw in Cooney too, while we're on the subject. Remember all those admissions that Cooney made late in his career, when his career was faultering, how he kept sobbing about "drinking problems and other things"? Well, the way Cooney performed against Norton, compared to the way Cooney performed in every single fight after that, leads me to conclude that there was a very good chance that Cooney was coked up or on some sort of amphetamine substance against Norton, and against some of the fighters Cooney beat before that. I wonder now if maybe Cooney had to give up his own "performance enhancer", and so what we saw in Cooney's post-Norton fights may have indeed been the real Cooney, instead of the coked-up Cooney.


Whatever Cooney was on, it surely aged him quickly. Did you see him in the Foreman fight? Cooney was 33 vs Foreman who was 43, and yet Cooney looked like he might have been the older guy. And that's exactly what "speed" does to you, you know: it ages you quicker.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Well whatever he was on, he sure beat the hell out of Gerry Cooney when those two fought. I actually paid money for that one, and kicked myself right in the you-know-what right after. I should have known: one of the most powerful heavyweight punchers of all time with either hand vs. one of the worst heavyweight chins of all time. Duuh, what was I thinking.


Yeah, I suppose nowadays anything's possible, so yeah, Foreman could have been on something. But it's just as plausible that Foreman just ate a lot of beef, even before he signed on to promote his griller thingamajig.


Speaking of fighters being on substances, we might as well throw in Cooney too, while we're on the subject. Remember all those admissions that Cooney made late in his career, when his career was faultering, how he kept sobbing about "drinking problems and other things"? Well, the way Cooney performed against Norton, compared to the way Cooney performed in every single fight after that, leads me to conclude that there was a very good chance that Cooney was coked up or on some sort of amphetamine substance against Norton, and against some of the fighters Cooney beat before that. I wonder now if maybe Cooney had to give up his own "performance enhancer", and so what we saw in Cooney's post-Norton fights may have indeed been the real Cooney, instead of the coked-up Cooney.


Whatever Cooney was on, it surely aged him quickly. Did you see him in the Foreman fight? Cooney was 33 vs Foreman who was 43, and yet Cooney looked like he might have been the older guy. And that's exactly what "speed" does to you, you know: it ages you quicker.

You must have made a wrong turn, you should go back to blackaffalete.com. At least there you can live and re-vision the past.

 

[white is right]

Well whatever he was on, he sure beat the hell out of Gerry Cooney when those two fought. I actually paid money for that one, and kicked myself right in the you-know-what right after. I should have known: one of the most powerful heavyweight punchers of all time with either hand vs. one of the worst heavyweight chins of all time. Duuh, what was I thinking.


Yeah, I suppose nowadays anything's possible, so yeah, Foreman could have been on something. But it's just as plausible that Foreman just ate a lot of beef, even before he signed on to promote his griller thingamajig.Tyson and Cooney never fought. If Gerry Cooney's coke use was a performance enhancer why did he have no chin and stamina post Holmes. He started using drugs post Holmes not pre-Holmes. Also Cooney had the body of a runner not a steroid fueled weightlifter. Otherwise you commmentary was spot on.....

Edited by: white is right

 

[jaxvid]

The anti-Cooney guy is back. He shows up every few months when they let him use the computer at the asylum. Ignore him, he'll be back in his cage in a few days.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Off the Grid: you`re off your rocker:


Whatever Cooney was on, it surely aged him quickly. Did you see him in the Foreman fight? Cooney was 33 vs Foreman who was 43, and yet Cooney looked like he might have been the older guy. And that's exactly what "speed" does to you, you know: it ages you quicker.


Foreman was not 43 for the Cooney fight. He had turned 41 just a few days prior to the match. Learn to count.


We already know that Cooney got messed up in drugs after his loss to Holmes and wasted the better part of the prime of his career. Cooney fought Spinks and Foreman just for a couple more big paychecks.What`s your point? Do you think there are a lot of Gerry Cooney fans here?


Last time I checked, Cooney was supposedly involvedin some good efforts to help retired boxers who have debilitating conditions and other problems becauseof their chosen profession. I think a helluva a lot more of him at present than I do about a piece of garbage like MikeTyson or a lying `roid monster/HGHuser like that fakechampion, Evander Holyfield.


Hell, if I were George Foreman and didn`t use any PEDs, I`d want Holyfield`swin erased and the belt awarded to me.In the end, I still find it hard to believe that George wasn`t on something too and maybe this is why we`ve heard nothing from him on thematter as far as I can recall.

 

[Guest]

Why are you guys harping about a retired fighter. Look no further that Shane Mosely. He admitted that he took the BALCO roids but says he did not know it...right! That decision against Oscar in 2003 should be voided and given to Oscar period. Why should Marion Jones give up her gold medals and be imprisioned and not Shane. I will tell you why, because boxing is a crooked sport and even though I love it this must not stand. The sport is cutting Shane a break becuase he is a 'good guy' BS. I always knew he was on something when he fought Oscar the the second time. He was ripped and explosive in the last three rounds. If I was Oscar I would be pissed. But I guess all of those millions makes him joyful no matter what the outcome.

 

[Liverlips]

"leads me to conclude that there was a very good chance that Cooney was coked up or on some sort of amphetamine substance against Norton."

Maybe, but coke worsens your performance while steroids enhances it. But the way Cooney easily knocked out Norton, Young, Lyle and other blacks makes it moot. He would have beaten them if he was drunk, high and/or hungover.

Face it, off-the-grid, only whites will hold heavyweight championship belts from now on. If that makes you sad, go watch "When We Were Kings," and just block out the fact that all those guys (Holmes, Norton, Ali and Frazier) lost to white guys and would be destroyed by today's superior European athletes.

 

[Trooper Thorn]

All Cooney's wins were a conspiracy by the Vatican, Right off-the-wall?

 

[white is right]

All Cooney's wins were a conspiracy by the Vatican, Right off-the-wall?

No it was a conspiracy by Post cereals, they wanted Lucky Charms sales to go Super Nova.....

Edited by: white is right

 

[Guest]

Oh, well yeah, I don't disagree with you. Cooney was a helluva nice guy. I was just talking about his boxing skills.


Look at it this way, just one blue collar joe to another: You go out drinking in a rough part of town and some serious trouble starts at the bar, if you're drinking with Gerry Cooney, you're gonna want more backup than that. If sh*t goes down and fists fly, you know that chin could go at any moment, right? Don't lie--you know damn well you'd be thinking that.


But if you're at the bar inthe 'hoodthrowing a few back with George Foreman, ain't nobody who's unarmed gonna mess with you. Period. Probably not even if they are armed.


That's the difference I'm talking about. It's called "who would you bet on when the chips are down?"


Seriously, are you gonna bet your money or risk your life on a helluva nice guy with a push-button chin? Hell no, you're not.


That's all I'm talking about. So now that I've sorted that out, we can all agree together that we're really talking about the same thing, and we can move on and talk about some other more important things, that's all. That's all I'm saying, man.

Last time I checked, Cooney was supposedly involvedin some good efforts to help retired boxers who have debilitating conditions and other problems becauseof their chosen profession. I think a helluva a lot more of him at present than I do about a piece of garbage like MikeTyson or a lying `roid monster/HGHuser like that fakechampion, Evander Holyfield.Edited by: Off_The_Grid