Okay for starters Michael Krizo did a phenomenal job at the New York Pro. I think it’s very important to understand that it was a one-point decision. For the people out there that say that Tonio dominated the show or that Tonio had Krizo defeated from the very beginning, I would invite them to look at the score cards. This sometimes happens in big shows like this because of the fact that there is so much buzz behind the guy who won the contest that it sometimes gets a little iffy when it comes to the fans’ recollection of what actually happened. I mean there is what the fans would like to have happened right, but then there’s reality. A lot of fans, especially Tonio fans, want to retell the story in such a way as to make their favorite bodybuilder seem larger than life. And that’s cool. It’s not just cool, it’s expected.
The sport of bodybuilding is a discipline where fans are very militant. Unlike major league sports, like basketball and football, those are team sports. But it’s also not like tennis or golf, either. Tennis and golf can both be single competitor sports but the fan base that supports bodybuilders is just on a completely different level than that of a golfer or tennis player.
Even though bodybuilding is a niche sport, the fan frenzy around a favorite bodybuilder can almost seem like a cult of personality. Fans are willing to go to all sorts of lengths including altering reality a little bit to prove it. Anybody that wins by a one-point decision did not dominate the show. And this is no disrespect to Tonio because I’m a huge fan of his and a huge fan of Michael’s, but really at the end of the day what it was, was a very close contest. And I don’t believe for a second that Krizo needs to reinvent the wheel. Could his posing have been better? Yes of course. But was his physique off? Was he holding water? Did he spill over or anything like that? Absolutely not. The guy was firing on all cylinders and was much improved. So now what?
Well before we talk about now what, we have to focus on the fact that while this was a one point decision. That should make Krizo extremely proud of his accomplishments. And this is very important as well because there is a swath of the bodybuilding fanbase who would like for him and his long-time coach George Farah to break ties. There are folks out there that would like to put all the blame on the coach and get it into Krizo’s head that he needs to find someone else. I am a firm believer in why fix it if it ain’t broke?
There is nothing wrong with George working with Krizo. Look at the results! Before anybody starts talking about the need for Krizo to change coaches or change approaches, I want you to focus on what we said at the very beginning. I want you to focus on something that I said in the first paragraph as well, it’s something that I will say throughout this piece. And that is that this was a one-point decision. So for those of you out there that are taking to Instagram and Tiktok and YouTube trying to pressure Krizo into switching coaches, I need you to really focus on that one point difference because what you’re saying is tantamount to insanity. I apologize for taking advantage of my editorial pen and of making my position seem like the best one, but your position is just totally goofy. I hope you will forgive me for saying so.
A guy that was one point away from winning the third biggest bodybuilding show in the world should hardly be down on himself. He should not feel bad at all. In fact, he should look at other contests and jump in one as soon as possible. The reason I say this is because he should not lose the physique that he brought to the New York Pro. He was conditioned, he was full, he was hard and he was striated. The last thing I would advise him to do is to take a couple of weeks off or worse – a month off and then look for another show in the summer or close to the Olympia. I think that would be a big mistake. In fact I think that if he did the Pittsburgh he could potentially win.
But to be real I think that that show may be a little bit out of even Krizo’s reach. Tonio will be there as well as Brandon Curry. And Brandon has been looking insane as of late. Plus Tonio is going to be ready for Krizo in Pittsburgh as well as Brandon and many of the others.
But could Krizo win the president’s show? Absolutely. Again, he is not the New York Pro champion by way of one point. That says a lot. He doesn’t have the Olympia qualification and he doesn’t have the NY title but one point is what kept him away from it. One point is hardly anything to feel bad about. So for all intents and purposes he could go into Pittsburgh and win it all. He could win his Olympic qualification in front of the ifbb pro league brass. Tell me that wouldn’t be cool? But is it likely?
Well…. That all depends. Am I talking about politics? Well, I’m not talking about the price of rice in China. What I am going to say is that I don’t think that Krizo has necessarily done anything to put himself in the corner. I don’t think that he has burned any bridges and I think he simply a bodybuilder trying to make his way. Those are good things to have in his file. Because in a close contest I don’t think that there’s any bad blood or any reason for him to be the one to lose another show. I think what happened in New York was simply a result of not so good posing. Has Krizo’s posing improved? Absolutely. Was Krizo’s posing better than Tonio’s? Not by a long shot! Tonio is a consummate poser and understands as I have said on various other articles, the importance of posing for the judges, posing for the cameras, and of course posing for the fans and the media. It is a very, very difficult art form to master but he most certainly has. And I think this is why he was rewarded with that very important one point that decided it all.
In time, I would like to see Krizo work on his back a little bit, but that’s not something he’s going to be able to do from one show to the next. He may not even be able to do it by the Olympia. However, if his back ever matched his front, he would be unstoppable. In addition to that, even though his back may not be to the point that it needs to be to win the Olympia, I think that by the New York outing it certainly is capable of winning one of the big three shows and certainly shows outside of the big three. I don’t for a second think Krizo’s chances of going to the Olympia have been dashed. If anything I believe that he has been emboldened to get that qualification as soon as possible. And that is another important detail. The sooner he gets the qualification, the sooner he can start focusing on the O. I hope that he’s not planning on sitting on the sidelines. I hope he’s going to dive into Pittsburgh and every show after until he gets his qualification.
But if he does that will he burn out? If he had to compete at half a dozen shows straight – absolutely. But he’s not going to have to compete in half a dozen shows. He lost the New York Pro by one point. This is a competitor who is capable of easily winning in any other pro show. Easily. So he’s not going to be competing two times or three times or four more times. If he doesn’t get it in Pittsburgh, then he needs to get it at the very next show after that. From there he needs to hunker down and plan 100% with George for Vegas. He needs to put all his ducks in a row; he needs to put all his efforts towards the Mr Olympia. Because I definitely think he’s in contention for the top six.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at IronMag. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Please be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s bound to generate lively conversation.
Author Bio:
Christian I. Duque is the owner of StrengthAddicts.com, a physique and strength website founded in 2008. He has worked for a number of bodybuilding websites, including RX Muscle and Muscular Development. Christian has written nearly 1,000 published articles for IronMag Blog, as well as articles for StrengthAddicts, RX Muscle, and others. By day, he is also a licensed attorney practicing in the areas of family law, immigration, and criminal defense.
