Tony Thompsons doping comments

[p4pking]

This isn't strange at all, you can completely see where a guy like Thompson is coming from. He's an old, solid veteran who has probably been clean and worked his ass off his whole career. Clearly he wouldn't throw this out without having a pretty good idea of how rampant doping is in the sport, and he probably feels that he's likely been cheated a couple of times himself. He would certainly be slightly more informed than the chap who's apparently "sickened" over his comments! I'm not ideally in favour of the legalization thing of course, but I honestly think it may be a fairer system than what is currently in place. All of these banned substances(which differ everywhere) aren't unlike the gun law at all, it's a perfectly good point. Without adequate standardized testing, or anything even CLOSE to it in many cases, outlawing banned substances truly can punish the fighters who choose to stay clean.

[Master]

That is giving up to the drug cheats. Anyone caught knowingly taking drugs should be facing criminal charges for attempted murder and be at least banned for life. There should be no room for the Armstrong's of this world.

[erics44]

some sort of middle ground might be a good solution

[Beanflicker]

I don't think it's completely unreasonable thing to say for him. Being niave fans, we want to believe PED use is limited to a select few bad guys, but the truth is I doubt if there are any current champs who aren't using or haven't used something at some point in their careers.

A lot of time it comes down to whether or not you have the money to shell out for the drugs and the experts to help you with your cycles and make sure it's left the body at drug test time. So in that way, it does give the bigger, richer fighter the advantage over those with limited budgets.

I think legalizing it would be a lot safer than the current state, because at least then it's out in the open and you can regulate and monitor it easier. It's like any other drugs: people are going to use them anyway.

I think most fans have a erroneous view of what steroids actually does for a fighter. It's not Rocky 4 where they turn a guy's hands into deadly weapons. The usage of PED's in boxing would be a) to recoup quicker and maintain muscle mass during the highly cardio-intensive boxing training camps and b) for endurance (EPO). It sucks that PED's have become to big in sports today, but that's the world we live in.

And there is a huge legal PED loophole that athletes use called hormone replacement therapy. You go to the doctor, claim you feel tired often, and he'll prescribe you testosterone injections that are fully legal as long as you disclose them to the athletic commision.

[Beanflicker]

That is giving up to the drug cheats. Anyone caught knowingly taking drugs should be facing criminal charges for attempted murder and be at least banned for life. There should be no room for the Armstrong's of this world.

You do that and boxing is going to be missing a ton of it's champs.

[beenKOed]

This isn't strange at all, you can completely see where a guy like Thompson is coming from. He's an old, solid veteran who has probably been clean and worked his ass off his whole career. Clearly he wouldn't throw this out without having a pretty good idea of how rampant doping is in the sport, and he probably feels that he's likely been cheated a couple of times himself. He would certainly be slightly more informed than the chap who's apparently "sickened" over his comments! I'm not ideally in favour of the legalization thing of course, but I honestly think it may be a fairer system than what is currently in place. All of these banned substances(which differ everywhere) aren't unlike the gun law at all, it's a perfectly good point. Without adequate standardized testing, or anything even CLOSE to it in many cases, outlawing banned substances truly can punish the fighters who choose to stay clean.

I agree, until every pro is being tested, we're spinning our wheels. A lot of noise but no real progress.

[TigerFan]

[Silkeyjoe]

This isn't strange at all, you can completely see where a guy like Thompson is coming from. He's an old, solid veteran who has probably been clean and worked his ass off his whole career. Clearly he wouldn't throw this out without having a pretty good idea of how rampant doping is in the sport, and he probably feels that he's likely been cheated a couple of times himself. He would certainly be slightly more informed than the chap who's apparently "sickened" over his comments! I'm not ideally in favour of the legalization thing of course, but I honestly think it may be a fairer system than what is currently in place. All of these banned substances(which differ everywhere) aren't unlike the gun law at all, it's a perfectly good point. Without adequate standardized testing, or anything even CLOSE to it in many cases, outlawing banned substances truly can punish the fighters who choose to stay clean.

I think it's ridiculous to even consider allowing this. All they need is stricter drug testing before every fight, one 2 months before, one a month before and a sample after the fight. All 3 have to be clean to collect the purse.

U allow these guys to take whatever they want well have loads of fighter dying from heart explosions. Just look at Eddie Guerrero

[p4pking]

This isn't strange at all, you can completely see where a guy like Thompson is coming from. He's an old, solid veteran who has probably been clean and worked his ass off his whole career. Clearly he wouldn't throw this out without having a pretty good idea of how rampant doping is in the sport, and he probably feels that he's likely been cheated a couple of times himself. He would certainly be slightly more informed than the chap who's apparently "sickened" over his comments! I'm not ideally in favour of the legalization thing of course, but I honestly think it may be a fairer system than what is currently in place. All of these banned substances(which differ everywhere) aren't unlike the gun law at all, it's a perfectly good point. Without adequate standardized testing, or anything even CLOSE to it in many cases, outlawing banned substances truly can punish the fighters who choose to stay clean.

I think it's ridiculous to even consider allowing this. All they need is stricter drug testing before every fight, one 2 months before, one a month before and a sample after the fight. All 3 have to be clean to collect the purse.

U allow these guys to take whatever they want well have loads of fighter dying from heart explosions. Just look at Eddie Guerrero

.....I didn't say they should allow it, simply that it may be at least as fair as what is currently in place. As it is, doping is rampant and a minority of those doing it ever get caught. Strict testing before all major fights would obviously be the best case scenario, I'm just saying if they aren't seriously going to work towards this it only serves to punish the guys who choose to train clean. And I didn't know who the hell Eddie Guerrero was, but I don't think WWF wrestlers are exactly the end result of allowing PED use in a serious sport. Those guys take it purely for aesthetic reasons which woud be a detriment in real combat of any sort. Boxers aim to be in peak physical condition, if they juiced in that sense to the point where it was affecting their hearts it would be counter-productive.

Lance Armstrong is probably the best example of what PED use can do for an athlete, and he never looked any more imposing than I do. Granted he was only concered with cardio and endurance, but that's a tremendous element of boxing as well.