The 2012 FLEX Pro Championships are in the books. Here, IFBB Judge Steve Weinberger breaks down the top five and goes inside the marquee men’s bodybuilding matchups.
5 – EDUARDO CORREA
“Couldn’t have been dialed in any better. Could have been a little fuller in fact. I was surprised to hear he wasn’t going to Arizona this weekend to compete in the 212 division, which is honestly where he belongs. He doesn’t have the frame to hang with these big guys, but his conditioning was absolutely perfect.”
4 – SHAWN RHODEN
“If he can ever get his upper body to match his legs, he is going to be one hard guy to deal with. He could be like another Flex Wheeler. His legs were perfect, great conditioning. I felt his upper body, back in particular, could have been harder. He was a little soft in the back.”
3 – FOUAD ABIAD
“In the morning he looked really good. Dialed in. Could have been little fuller, was a little flat in the chest but was in really good condition. Night came along and he got a little smaller and softer and that’s why he dropped from second to third. He passed over that line and really flattened out.”
2 – BEN PAKULSKI
“Looked good when he first came out in the morning and was third after the prejudging. Carries a lot of muscle. His symmetry is his weakest point, size and muscularity his strongest points. Came in so much harder at night and just overtook Fouad on conditioning. If he was as hard in the morning as he was at night, he could have even given Lionel a run for his money.”
1 – LIONEL BEYEKE
“He has amazing, thick muscle belies and great shape. He still has that Flex Wheeler effect where he’s a little bit watery. But his shape and muscularity was overpowering all day. He did win that show pretty convincingly in my opinion, but to do well at the Arnold he’s going to have to bring that body in a lot sharper to match up with the other guys. But great shape, good conditioning, just a little watery. He just looked a little spongy. He definitely improved his stage presence from a year ago, he looked a lot more confident.”
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
Breaking down the marquee matchups in the top five
Matchup 1: Shawn Rhoden vs Eduardo Correa
“A really close call. The only reason I feel Shawn came out on top is that he had more muscle. Eduardo’s conditioning was off the charts, but you have to put muscle into it too because it’s still a bodybuilding show Conditioning in the lower body on both guys was really the same. Eduardo had better conditioning in the upper body, but was in such good condition he looked very lean. Almost not enough muscle there, like he burned all his muscle out. Sean didn’t destroy him – he had just had enough muscle to take him. If Eduardo had been three to five pounds heavier it would have been a different story.”
Matchup 2: Ben Pakulski vs Fouad Abiad
“In the morning it was reversed, Fouad was winning after the prejudging. Pacman beat him at nighttime because he came in better conditioning. Pose for pose Ben was just beating him. It almost looked like Fouad over-dieted a little, he really needed to be a little fuller. Ben just got leaner and harder and Fouad flattened out. If Ben can look the way he looked at night and keep improving on that he’ll be fine.”
