Iranian bodybuilding veteran King Kamali (Shahriar Kamali) is breaking down the action set to unfold at the nearing 2024 Arnold Classic. In a recent YouTube video, Kamali took a closer look at the upcoming battle between Samson Dauda and Hadi Choopan. He also backed Dauda to one day win multiple Mr. Olympia titles.
From the moment the competitor’s list was released for the 2024 Arnold Classic, anticipation around the event picked up steam. Most notably, the roster included reigning 2023 Arnold Classic champion Samson Dauda and former Olympia winner Hadi Choopan, who entered this event with a chip on his shoulder, having come up short to his teammate Derek Lunsford at the sport’s biggest event of the year.
Up to this point, the bodybuilding community has largely backed Hadi Choopan to emerge victorious in Ohio. Former champ Jay Cutler, Dennis James, Chris Cormier, and Nick Walker have all extended their support for ‘The Persian Wolf’s’ potential triumph. Meanwhile, Brandon Curry and Milos Sarcev predicted Dauda to pick up the big win.
Kamali, a 1990s-2000s retired IFBB Pro, still closely monitors the division he once participated in. Now, the 51-year-old is taking to a microphone to lay out his expectations of the second-most prestigious bodybuilding show on the calendar.
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King Kamali Talks 2024 Arnold Classic Frontrunners, Explains Why Samson Dauda Will Become a ‘Multiple Mr. Olympia’
In light of Hadi Choopan’s abrupt exit from the 2023 Olympia stage, Kamali believes he is entering the 2024 Arnold Classic to show the world that he can still achieve show-stopping conditioning levels.
“Listen, in his mind, he got robbed. In the mind of some people and an entire country, he got robbed, shared King Kamali. “Yes. He is taking a risk but he’s pissed off, some people like myself, do a lot better when they are mad and they are angry and I think Hany has a little bit to do with this too.”
“King Kamali’s theory on what’s going to happen here, okay, I think he is pissed off and he wants to show the world that he can bring that conditioning that we all are used to. Now, there’s a positive and a negative with that.”
Even though dry conditioning is Choopan’s trademark feature, Kamali warns that pursuing it might cause him to come in flat.
“The positive is, yeah, if you’re pissed and you really start dieting and you don’t eat that extra cookie that was there, all those little things we did when we were dieting, if he’s doing that yes, he’s going to get conditioned and get in shape.
But, here’s the but factor in there, you can push it too far and come in flat. If they try to pull too much he will come in flat,” shares Kamali.
According to Kamali, the Arnold Classic has a tradition of awarding competitors for dry conditioning, despite that not being the case last year.
“Everybody has their thing. Hadi put the standard up here. He put this conditioning where everyone is like oh Hadi will be conditioned, okay, well let’s see if he does that. We all know the Arnold Classic has a tradition of conditioning.
They reward conditioning. They have their most muscular award and they have their championship award. Let’s see what happens. Hany like you said, he is very meticulous, he is down to the wire with every little drop of grain of rice and that’s fantastic and all that, but the body does weird things each time you step on stage.”
Based on his recent performances, King Kamali contends that Choopan is getting worse, not better.
“There’s a pattern, Hadi has been getting worse and worse as we’re going, it hasn’t been going this way, it’s been going this way [downhill],” adds Kamali.
King Kamali doesn’t believe any athlete will present their best on the Arnold Classic stage, as was the case with the 2023 Olympia contest.
“First of all, nobody is going to be at their best. We always say that. You say it, I say it, Palumbo says it, Milos says it, we all say it on all our podcasts and stuff and what happens? We put the expectations what here, and like the Olympia, everyone was a little bit off.”
Barring that poor lighting doesn’t hold him back, King Kamali expressed confidence in Samson Dauda, adding that he believes in time, he will be a multiple Mr. Olympia champion.
“Here’s the thing about Samson, it’s a two-pronged thing: number one, his personality. He’s a good guy. I talk to Samson.
We are in communication with each other. I motivate him. I send him little messages here and there and he sends one back, King I needed that, thank you because I believe he will be a multiple Mr. Olympia, that’s my opinion.”
With proper lighting, Kamali argues that Dauda’s details, such as his hamstring definition are more prominent, which could be a relevant factor against someone like Choopan in Ohio.
“Samson’s skin is extra black, it’s Wesley Snipes black. When you have that type of skin the lighting has to be absolutely superb for everyone to see what Samson has.
There are some pictures when Samson is standing next to Hadi and Derek and you look at him, you think he could be harder, he could, but when the flash bulbs go off and you see the light flashing on their bodies then you go holy shit, Samson’s got that. Samson does have the hamstrings. My thing is I hope to God they get the lighting correct.”
King Kamali hasn’t been the only high-profile retired Pro to express support for Samson Dauda’s future. Shawn Ray, a 1990s bodybuilding standout, believes Samson Dauda to be the next Mr. Olympia, stressing that if the Open star wins in Ohio, he will solidify his status as the number one contender for the sport’s greatest title.
Whoever emerges with the major victory in Ohio will be one step closer to clinching Mr. Olympia gold. Fans look forward to seeing how the 2024 Arnold Classic will conclude when athletes take the stage from February 29 to March 3.
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