The 2012 Arnold Classic featured an ultra-competitive top three matchup of Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf and Evan Centopani. Here, IFBB Judge Steve Weinberger breaks down the physiques of the top six and goes inside three of the marquee men’s bodybuilding matchups.
6 – LIONEL BEYEKE
“Beautiful shape. Full muscle bellies. A little softer than he was at the FLEX Pro, especially in his thighs. His legs were a lot harder in LA. He fell off a little bit here.”
5 – DEXTER JACKSON
“Lacking his signature sharpness. He was a little soft, which you usually don’t see out of Dexter. At the Masters in Florida he was hard, he just wasn’t hard here at the Arnold. His back is usually big, thick and hard and it wasn’t here. I thought he should have done the FLEX show, I think that would have helped him tremendously here. He could have worked out the kinks and came back better for the Arnold. His thighs are back – the size of his legs wasn’t the problem. “
4 – BEN PAKULSKI
“He improved from the FLEX show. His weakness is his shape, but his muscularity and size is a force to be reckoned with. His back still needs to improve. His legs and shoulders are crazy. If he can stay consistent like he has so far this year with his conditioning, once that back catches up with the rest of the body he’s going to be really good. “
3 – EVAN CENTOPANI
“He’s like Mr. Consistency, he comes in shape every show. He has beautiful shape and he comes in so sharp. Needs more chest and he also needs more back. When that happens a lot of people better run for cover. I’ve never seen this guy come into a show out of shape, from I first saw him win the NPC Atlantic States on I’ve never seen it. “
2 – DENNIS WOLF
“The best I’ve ever seen him. His back has improved so much – I thought he had the best back in the show. Of course there is always room for improvement. Great shoulders, great chest. His legs – they could be a little sharper. He just looked a tad flat, like he was holding a little bit of water. He could have been harder. He’s another one – he and Evan are going to be too dangerous guys. “
1 – BRANCH WARREN
“I didn’t know anyone could get any more muscular than the last time I saw him, but he did. It was like he was cut out of stone. All of his body parts are unbelievable, except his back. That’s the one body part that needs work, the only thing that holds him back a little bit. But every body part on him is granite. To come back from that injury so fast and look so good, it just shows you what kind of a workhorse he is. “
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
Breaking down the marquee matchups in the top six
MATCHUP 1: BEN PAKULSKI vs DEXTER JACKSON
“Really close between these guys. They were only separated by one point in each round. If Dexter was a tad harder he would have beat him. That was really a coin toss, you could have argued that one all day long. I would say just because Dexter was just off, and his back was down. And Ben has so much muscle.”
MATCHUP 2: DENNIS WOLF vs EVAN CENTOPANI
“Dennis was just too big. It was size. He just outmuscled him. Once Evan puts that muscle on, it could be a different story. These two guys are really up and coming superstars. I wouldn’t be surprised if both are Mr. Olympia someday. All of the top three guys really brought it this time.”
MATCHUP 3: BRANCH WARREN vs DENNIS WOLF
“Branch’s conditioning was the deciding factor – like I said before, it was like he was cut out of granite. He out-conditioned everybody. I don’t care how many years he’s won the most muscular award here, he always deserves it. .”
