We are thrilled to announce that the 2021 Arnold Classic champion, Nick Walker, will once again be making his way to the stage in Columbus. This time, in an attempt to regain his title against a formidable field of some of the IFBB’s best competitors. However, we can’t just completely forget about Samson Dauda, William Bonac, or 212 Mr.Olympia Shaun Clarida.
Nick placed 3rd in the world in the 2022 Mr. Olympia, and if you look at history, Nick has the best possibility of winning the 2023 Arnold Classic right now. Before, everyone’s eyes were on Samson, but now everyone’s eyes are on Nick Walker. I believe no matter how good Samson Dauda is at the Arnold Classic this year, he will not defeat Nick Walker. By the appearance of Nick’s conditioning, size, and fullness, he would destroy the competition. As he does more shows throughout the year, Nickgets better, and as of right now, it looks like he is winning this over Samson Dauda.
If Samson is able to redeem himself after last year’s Arnold and even place second, then that would be a huge level up for him. If he doesn’t win the Arnold Classic this year, we’re still going to see him on stage one more time this year before the Olympia, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and will most likely help him. He still needs to add more muscle to his back and get leaner.
Shaun Clarida just came off of a 212 Mr. Olympia win, and is now a threat to Nick Walker. Shaun is not unfamiliar with winning open division shows, but we are talking about Nick Walker and Samson Dauda, who are two of the most elite bodybuilders in the world right now. If Shaun expects to beat one or both of these guys, he’s going to have to bring something spectacular to the stage that really impresses the judges.
Nick continues to impress us and delivers at every single show he decides to do. I believe Derek Lunsford has a golden opportunity to enter this contest and beat Nick Walker once again, and take home the $300,000 prize. Derek is the only person in the world right now who has the odds of beating Nick Walker and would be stupid to not enter this competition and create/fuel a rivalry.
