Palumbo has the mass and conditioning...he is a FREAK in every sense of the word but his physique isnt pretty at all. I am not trying to take anything away from Palumbo but he has structural flaws such as a big torso and his chest isnt really all that great.
But he is making due to what he was born with for his own genetic potential.
What he should do is enter some pro qualifier that is not well known ...perhaps in another country against guys he knows he will dominate because of his sheer mass...I believe Bruce Patterson (Canadian pro) did an amatuer contest where he competed against guys that he literally dwarfed who did not look at all like pro material. It was like boys competing against a grown man when he competed at this show and got his pro card...it was no contest... I think this is what Dave Palumbo needs to do to get his pro card....enter a pro qulaifying show in a different country where he is competing against mediocre physiques......that way....people will say, there is no way he should not have won that contest where he made others look like little boys .......that would be like a Hummer competing against a jeep..the Hummer will win in a class all its own...
Aside from Chick who got his pro card after years and years of competing...I think Dave palumbo is one of the athletes who competed all these years who has always failed to receive his pro card...he never gave up and competes year after year for this dream....that in itself is commendable but also time and money consuming....
Bruce Patterson won the Canada Cup back in 1994. That show was supposed to be similar to the Jr. Nationals and initially WAS NOT a pro qualifier. With all the press that Patterson got from MuscleMag, talking about his resemblance to a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, the CBBF decided to give Patterson a pro card, based on that win. In a token attempt of fairness, the CBBF gave the previous year's Canada Cup winner, Ray Williams, a pro card as well.
If anyone shouldn't be in the pro ranks, it's those Canadians who got pro cards without even winning their weight class at the Canadian Nationals (i.e. Scott Milne, Mike Asideu, Christine Roth, etc.). Milne placed 2nd three times in the superheavyweight: once to Eric DiLauro (one of Mr. Olympia's training partners, who doesn't have pro status, I don't think) and twice to Mike Platz (who won the class in 2001 but had to win the overall in 2002 to get his card).
The CBBF gives out two pro cards in the Men's ranks of the Canadian Nationals. One goes to the overall champion, and the other goes to whoever they think deserves one. At least twice, it has gone to the runner up in the superheavyweight class, instead of one of the other weight-class winners.
