by Christian Duque
I think it’s absolutely great news to see the return of The Conqueror William Bonac to the major stage. Here is one of the greatest bodybuilders that ever lived. Who can forget his big wins at the Arnold Classic? He battled it out with the most decorated champion in history, Dexter “The Blade” Jackson, he kept Big Ramy at bay in 2020 in Columbus and just months later he’d win the Mr. Olympia after receiving a bizarre special invite. Bonac nearly edged out Brandon Curry at the 2019 Mr. Olympia in what can only be described as a nailbiter of a contest. Everyone in the house studied The Conqueror and The Prodigy closely. Some even say it could have gone either way. That’s how razor close it was and both men had and continue to have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.
When you to stop to think about the many achievements over the course of William’s career you’re left utterly speechless. Nonetheless, for all his top honors and titles, The Conqueror has the distinction of being one of the least covered champions in the history of bodybuilding. I’ve written extensively about this injustice over the years at Iron Magazine, StrengthAddicts.com, talked about it on my shows for Muscular Development and elsewhere. I could never understand why Bonac was all but ignored by the bodybuilding press and didn’t enjoy the kind of love he deserved from big-name promoters who often used other talent instead of him. It never made any sense to me.
Perhaps one reason why William wasn’t front and center when it came to media attention was his whole approach to the stage. The Conqueror knows he’s a champion and he also knows what he’s capable of. He’s gone to the mountain top before and he will go there again. That’s never been in question. And his vision is clear. He’s one of the few elite-level pro’s who voluntarily sat himself out from competition. He didn’t force his body to burn out and he certainly didn’t keep going until injuries sidelined him. After the 2023 Arnold Classic he just felt the need to sit out the Olympia and would later sit out the 2024 ASC as well. His reason was simple. He wanted to give his body a much-needed breather and what he was very transparent about how he planned to use the downtime.
Unlike others in a similar situation that might say he wanted to grow or switch up his look, William got straight to the point. His goal was to enjoy time with family, eat some good food, and enjoy life. When’s the last time you heard a champion on that level be that honest with the fans? And was Bonac applauded for his efforts by the press? Of course not.
If William sat around waiting to get love from the big media websites he’d die of old age. They would rather focus on guys who couldn’t hold a candle to his physique, guys that haven’t the faintest idea of suffering to the point he has. The reason why is because the dogs that bark the loudest. seldom, if ever, bite. It’s ok that they don’t put it all together and it’s ok that they don’t have any major titles or top honors to their name. They’re shit-talkers and the media can’t get enough. They’re not positive role models and some of them don’t even respect the stage. All they do is start beefs on social media, others will stoop so low that even the friends and family of their targets get hit with the negativity too.
I’m not going to sit here and rattle off names. You guys know full well who I’m talking about and you also know full-well just how much attention they get from the pundits. William Bonac never got into all that. The closest thing would be when Luimarco disrespected him and William read him the riot act. By the way, has anyone even heard of Luimarco today? Does anyone talk about him or wonder what he’s up to? No. He’s yesterday’s news, but William Bonac is most definitely on his way back to the top.
And it’s not just talk. Yes, I’m a huge fan of The Conqueror’s. Absolutely everyone knows that, but for the few who don’t, I’ll gladly put my cards on the table. The one thing about me is that I don’t hide my biases and I don’t hide my favoritism, but with champions like Bonac their fans don’t have to fight very hard because their physiques do the talking. This is why William never got down with all the trash talk. He didn’t have to. He could destroy most of the competition just taking his shirt and sweats off. Sometimes he didn’t have to pump up very much either. It was just an utter slaughter. This is because William was a cut above and by many accounts was far ahead of his time. He could have done very well in pretty much any era of the sport, including the 1990’s and 2000’s. And still, he got very little love from the press. That’s ok though, no big deal at all.
There’s two things you can do in this life. You can dwell about the cards you’re dealt or you can keep going. William was always about the latter, never the former. What’s complaining going to get you? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I for one can’t wait until June when William hits the stage at the Empro Classic 2024 in Spain. There’s already people talking about who else is competing, but not me, not here. If The Conqueror comes at 100% then whoever shows can show up – they’re not going to be winning. If William feels the time is right to return, then he’s given his body enough rest to bounce back better than ever. Better than ever? Absolutely.
Very few people recognize the value of giving the body time to recover. Most top guys can’t do what The Conqueror did. They can’t sit out the Olympia AND the Arnold. Maybe it’s because of money or maybe it’s simply because they’re scared people will stop talking about them. Whatever the fear may be, they just can’t press the pause button. By giving himself time to really recharge, there’s a very good chance William will bring a substantially improved physique. He will also be ready to go for more. I have no doubt The Conqueror will win the Empro Classic, earning an Olympia qualification, and from there he’ll likely hunker down and give his all for the 2024 Super Bowl of Bodybuilding.
There’s no way William Bonac is coming back just to compete and then go back to obscurity. No one is calling this a comeback, but that’s exactly what it is in my book. Only time will tell, but from the progress updated we’ve seen so far, The Conqueror is coming – and the competition better look out!
