Ask a Pro: Larry Olubamiwo

[Beanz]

I'll get the ball rolling, I have 2 questions:

- Do you still think you would have won the fights you did without the drugs?

Yes I do believe I would have won those fights as those fights were won with punching power and despite what people think i think the substances for recovery, not muscle mass or strength

Is it because you have a BSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry that you were able to synthesise a form of HGH that whilst having the side effect of aiding in your recovery had none of the other commonly known correlations to size, strength and explosive muscle power, something you obviously did not need in the 10 KO's you scored in your first 11 fights? Did you manage to do this with anabolic steroids too, removing their tendency to mostly improve the muscle fiber size in the vastus lateralis (crucial in punching power) and the trapezius muscle (useful in providing a strong neck to absorb punches)?

- Being such a massive guy, knocking everyone else out, how shocked were you when McDermott landed those big shots? Was it literally a case of not knowing what had hit you. I bet you never expected it. I certainly didn't watching at home!

Those knockdowns with mcdermott were purely because I was not warmed up properly, as u see i got up both times and beat the count. I was not hurt at any point but if u are not warm, punches have a more pronounced effect

Do you usually wobble like that when you are not hurt? Were you trying to call his bluff?

Lots of fans and trainers will think that fighters being too muscle-bound doesn't actually benefit them. As an example of a muscular boxer, what do you think?

Me being muscular has nothing to do with the substances i was taking as i was naturally a very muscular guy anyway and as i said they were not used to be muscular, so that is down to my genetics.

there is a point of diminishing returns as far as muscle mass is concerned as u want enough to help ur power and protect vital organs but not too much that will hamper ur stamina as muscles require oxygen. so it really has to be experimented with off season to see what is best.

Were your experiments with muscle building and EPO not so successful, only you looked pretty gassed at the end of the Sexton fight and that was stopped early?

Will you be helping the authorities expose the problem and help the boxing game?

You will receive a lighter sentence and you could help youngsters not go down the same route like Dwain Chambers has done?

At this moment this is not an option.

As a graduate in pharmaceuticals did you not worry about the side effects of the drugs you ingested? Excessive organ growth and heart disease from HGH, hypertension,an increase in LDL cholesterol,coronary artery disease, premature baldness from anabolic steroids and the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes with EPO? Could you not use your knowledge to help educate people on the dangers of using the aforesaid PED's? You seem uniquely qualified to do so here in the UK

"What calibur are the guys you know who are using? Without naming names i.e. Are they World champions, British champions, World title challengers etc"

The calibur of guys i know that are using are all across the board from the journeyman to world champions and also some guys who have retired who were world champions.

If you were using for 6 years that means you started straight after graduating and all of your pro career. Did you also use as an amateur or when you did athletics?




I only ask these questions because as a fan of Boxing it seems that the prevalence of PED's in the sport is in danger of overshadowing the hard work and dedication of clean athletes out there. While I have no desire to see Boxers forced to be role models, the sport is dangerous enough as it is without participants not fighting on a level playing field. It makes precautionary measures like weight classes almost irrelevant when liberties are taken. If that makes me "an odious little c***" like your good friend Altug seems to think, then so be it.