With less than two weeks to go before the Arnold Classic, where defending champion Samson Dauda will look to take a stab at history by back-to-back titles, Marcello “Horse M.D.” DeAngelis seems to be swinging the pendulum in his direction as a potential top three threat following the release of his newest physique update.
Almost immediately after the first iteration of the 2024 Arnold Classic was announced most bodybuilding fans seem to have slated Dauda, former Olympia title holder Hadi Choopan, and former top-three Arnold Classic finisher Rada Brandao as consensus locks to fill out the top three in this year’s contest; including reigning Olympia champion Derek Lunsford, who predicted that Choopan, Dauda, and Brandao would out the top group in this year’s contest.
However, in the wake of DeAngelis’ latest update, there’s a growing number of voices in the bodybuilding community who see him as a serious contender top three contender who could throw allow of the pre-show predictions into the blender by the start of the Finals in the evening.
Up to this point in his IFBB career, this looks to be the best combination of size and conditioning that the former De Angelis has brought to the pro stage and, if he’s managed to main the symmetry and proportions that we saw from him dominant Classic Physique performances at the amateur level, which led some bodybuilding fans to believe that he had the potential to challenge Chris Bumstead for the Olympia title someday, then the growing number of voices touting him as a serious contender to compete with Samson for a shot the Arnold Classic crown might not be too far off.
In recent years we’ve seen a handful of athletes manage to come in and take the Arnold Classic stage by storm, like Nick Walker did back in 2021 when he won the Arnold Classic title in what was just his third IFBB show – and if De Angelis can follow that blueprint, it might be an early indicator that the 2024 contest season is one that’s going to be full of surprises.
