With 48 hours until competitors meet for 2023 Mr. Olympia, athletes are finalizing the last stages of their respective preparations. In a recent YouTube video published on November 1, bodybuilding veteran Kevin Levrone discussed Hadi Choopan’s mentality heading into his first Mr. Olympia title defense.
Last December, the 2022 Mr. Olympia competition concluded with several big takeaways. The finals saw Hadi Choopan reign supreme over his teammate Derek Lunsford and third-place finisher Nick Walker. Meanwhile, the former two-time titleholder, Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay came up short in fifth place.
While bodybuilding veterans largely supported Ramy’s chances of success last year, that’s not the case for the champ Hadi Choopan this season. Thus far, a crop of legends have backed Lunsford to exit Orlando, Florida with the trophy including Jay Cutler, Chris Cormier, Ronnie Coleman, and Samir Bannout.
Levrone, who was an Open class mainstay in the 1990s, recently sat down to discuss Choopan’s mentality before heading into this weekend. With Choopan’s reign in doubt, Levrone opened up on how he sees the champ handling the pressure.
“He’s a Raging Bull” – Kevin Levrone Dives Into Hadi Choopan’s 2023 Mr. Olympia Mentality
Levrone believes Choopan’s mindset is one of his greatest weapons heading into this weekend.
“Looking at him and observing him and from what I feel from his character… and what little I know about him. I think his mindset is ahead of the game.
I say that because looking at him I can tell that this guy is tough, you know. He’s a raging bull. There’s no soft sides I see about his personality or his nature. I believe he does have that killer instinct.”
According to Levrone, Choopan has a point to prove on the 2023 Mr. Olympia stage given how many people have underestimated him.
“When I talk about the vision, I think by him winning it’s going to make him even hungrier to get better. There’s no doubt he’s a hard trainer. There’s no doubt that I know this guy definitely knows how to suffer and to go into that gym and to put that work in without people picking up the weights for him and putting in on, he doesn’t have that sissy-fied baby personality.
This guy, I think he’s zoned in, I think he’s hungry and I think knowing that he has his country behind him and what he’s competing for is going to give him that extra drive that he needs to take it to another level and every Mr. Olympia who I competed against, they’ve gotten better and better and better. I think this guy is definitely out to prove a point. To prove that he’s a worthy champion to earn more than just two Mr. Olympias,” Kevin Levrone shared.
Carrying the country of Iran on his back, Levrone emphasized that Choopan is fighting for more than ‘showmanship, glitz or glamor.’
“To him it’s not about the showmanship, it’s not about the glitz and glamor, it’s about what he can do to earn that title for his people and for his country and these guys will die for their country we already know that. That bloodline is running deep. This guy is mentally on another level.”
Watch the full video from the Rx Muscle YouTube channel below:
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