"He’s got a lot of muscle" - Bob Cicherillo lays out reasons why Nick Walker deserved second place at the Arnold Classic

Bob Cicherillo has been an avid critic of people holding judges at fault for their placings at the 2023 Arnold Classic. The show, since its conclusion, has stirred up many conversations regarding ambiguity in judging within the sport. This has been mainly due to Nick Walker finishing behind champion Samson Dauda.

In a recent episode of the Voice of Bodybuilding, Bob Cicherillo took the opportunity to protect the judges and reiterate that Nick Walker deserved second place as he was not on par with Samson Dauda. Cicherillo initially laid down Walker's strengths and weaknesses:

"Nick’s a little top heavy, legs came down a little bit too much this past competition but his conditioning is stellar. He’s got a lot of muscle on his frame and it’s still a bodybuilding show at the end of the day."

According to Cicherillo, Walker's physique, as compared to third-placed Andrew Jacked's, had better overall appeal and deserved a second-place finish. However, it was not enough to topple Samson Dauda. He said:

"The judges now compare these two and say who’s got more checkmarks in the positive line as opposed to the negative line? Your answer in this case is Nick. He’s got great conditioning, symmetry ain’t that bad. Compare it to Jacked.

"Jacked from the side, a little bit slight, doesn’t have the leg thickness Nick does, not even close. Nick beats him from the back… Overall, Nick is the second-best bodybuilder there when all things are considered."

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"You got a size-factor here" - Bob Cicherillo on why Ramy finished above Shaun Clarida at the Arnold Classic

Shaun Clarida made his open-division debut in the 2023 Arnold Classic but finished in fifth place on the show. The current 212 Olympia champion appeared significantly smaller on stage, and Cicherillo pointed out that this was the reason for his placing:

"Okay, Ramy, is a freak, 300 pounds of muscle and all those attributes we give to him. Is he missing some things? Well, yeah we have already been over that. Yes, he has got some issues that he has been working on that have resulted in his physique not being as good as it was a couple years ago.

"I think that's pretty much universally accepted at this point. Is it more complete than Shaun Clarida? Well, not really, but you got a size-factor here, right? Listen, could I have made a case for Clarida placing over Ramy? If you were to blow his physique up to equal size, Shaun Clarida is a much more complete bodybuilder. But he's not, he's 5'3 or something"

Shaun Clarida has since stated publicly that he will continue as a 212 competitor after realizing how the size differential disadvantages him:

"[Shaun has] Beautiful proportions, great muscularity but its very very difficult in a muscle contest to take that type pf differential in terms of overall muscle. I mean 300 pounds of muscle is a lot of muscle to have on stage."

Clarida recently stated that he wishes to become the greatest 212 bodybuilder to ever play the game. He wishes to one day topple Flex Lewis, who has won the competition seven times.

Big Ramy, on the other hand, has responded to critics asking him to retire, stating that he will continue to pursue what he loves.