Quote Originally Posted by Rantcatrat View Post
Quote Originally Posted by marbleheadmaui View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Hornfinger View Post
Ben Johnson
While I am of the belief that nearly all world class athletes are using PED's I see absolutely nothing that makes Manny jump out.

It is when people do things that have never been done before that my eyes open up. Manny hasn't as this data proves. What Manny HAS done that is unique is make technical improvements. But how the heck could drugs make his right hand or balance or footwork better?
Three things. One, does Manny's style remind you of anyone from the past? Two, why do you think most world class athletes are using PED's? Does this include Olympic athletes? Three, the question bound to be asked, where does Floyd rank in comparison?
Does Manny's style remind me of guys from the past. In pieces sure, Duran, Wilde, Villa, Olivares, Pep. In totality? Not really. The sport hasn't had many blazing fast, lefty powerhouses.

A little personal history. I became friends with a trainer in the early 1990's who was on the staff of several professional sports teams. He told me around 1992 that the correct working presumption was EVERYONE at the world class level was doing something. It was nearly impossible to compete at that level clean. I told him I didn't believe that and he began dropping names. And over the years he never gave me a name where the guy wasn't later caught up in things. Over the years maybe 75-100 names. After 15 years of him being right EVERY SINGLE TIME I quit arguing.

As far as the Olympics go, there was a famous survey of Olympic Athletes done in 1972 where almost 70% of athletes admitted using steroids. Now my guess is that the figure today is FAR higher than that. Testing is a joke. You have to remember that in order to test for something, you really have to know it exists. These chemists and doctors don't give athletes something until they have a masking agent and until they run the same tests WADA runs. The folks who get caught are the folks who make mistakes in protocols, or in the case of BALCO, where someone gives the testers the drugs' formula.

In terms of sheer talent? Mayweather is one of the top 5 guys of my lifetime and probably one of the top 15-20 of all-time. In terms of what he has actually accomplished? He's a borderline top 50. For me THAT is the frustration with him. He simply hasn't done what he could have.