Reigning 212 Olympia Keone Pearson has kept a close eye on other divisions in his spare time. In a recent YouTube video, Pearson discusses a future battle with Derek Lunsford and explains why he believes Wesley Vissers to have the best physique of anyone in the Classic Physique category.
After claiming the upset victory over Shaun Clarida at the 2023 Olympia, Keone Pearson leads the pack among 212 talents in the IFBB Pro League. With lofty goals at the forefront of his mind, Pearson intends to bring further improvements to the 2024 Mr. Olympia stage with density and conditioning. Though, for now, he decided to analyze contenders from two of the sport’s most popular categories: Men’s Open and Classic Physique.
Keone Pearson ‘Would Love to Go Against Derek Lunsford’ in Future, Names Wesley Vissers as Best in Classic Physique
Even though he admires Derek Lunsford as a mentor, Keone Pearson would love nothing more than to mix it up with the reigning Mr. Olympia in the future.
“I always admired Derek. Well, he gave me the best advice. I mean, before I even got into 212. He always believed in me. He always made the joke, like when I leave, you can be the champ.”
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“Right when I kind of want to go against Derek he was gone already,” said Pearson. “I don’t think I did [compete with him].”
He adds that he and Lunsford have similarities structure-wise.
“I would love to go against Derek. Yeah, of course, I got all the respect for Derek but I would definitely love to go against him before he’s done. I mean, structure-wise, we are both young, structurally-wise we are pretty much comparable versus him and Hadi. I think Hadi is on another planet. But me and Derek, I think it’s very comparable.”
Pearson named Wesley Vissers when asked about who he thought boasted the best look in Classic Physique. Vissers recently emerged victorious at the 2024 Arnold Classic Ohio and UK shows.
“In my opinion, I’ve been a fan of Wesley Vissers man. Yeah [he has a big upper body]. I think so [he can challenge Chris Bumstead]. He has very pretty deep lines. Even his quad sweeps, they may not be as big as people want them but just look at the detail, it’s so deep. The hamstrings, he just has the most golden era physique.”
“He’s on a good path right now,” adds Jay Cutler.
Pearson doesn’t believe Ramon Queiroz has given Chris Bumstead a challenge like Vissers is capable of at the 2024 Mr. Olympia.
“He’s pretty big,” responds Pearson. “I think Wesley is pretty clean too.”
“I don’t even count and this is not a knock on anyone, but Dino is a great athlete but I don’t think he’s really challenging Chris.”
This hasn’t been the first time Keone Pearson has brought up the Men’s Open division. In addition to comparing his rivalry with Clarida to Phil Heath’s and Kai Greene’s, Pearson mentioned that he would enter an Open show on the horizon assuming everything goes well at the 2024 Mr. Olympia.
Fans look forward to welcoming Keone Pearson back to a bodybuilding stage. He will rematch Clarida for the 212 Olympia title from October 10-13 in celebration of the organization’s 60th anniversary in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch the full video from the Cutler Cast YouTube channel below:
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