Bodybuilding probably should have maxed out there, if we as fans care about the lifespans of the people involved in bodybuilding. But it is human nature - or just nature - to push it to the limit. If not beyond the limit.
joswift, do you know if that show was before or after the Mr. Olympia contest? If I had to guess, I would say after, because as I recall, Rich Gaspari was a top two pick for the 1988 Mr. Olympia, and I would assume if Labrada had beaten him for the first time earlier that year that Labrada would have been a pick for the top two.
By 1989, Rich Gaspari started declining, although he did win the first Arnold Classic that year. That is also crazy to me to think that Rich Gaspari started declining by age 26. But maybe THAT is actually the issue - how can anyone be that good that young and stay that good?
Even by 1994 at the Night of Champions, I thought Gaspari looked great, but he did some signs of injury on his physique by that point. I also think he was judged harshly based on previous versions of himself. As in - he didn't look as good as he once did, and he was judged for that, in part, as well as judged against the politician.
It's pretty much impossible to find judges to objectively judge a subjective endeavour. That's why, as they say, you have to knock out the champ to be the champ. My mathematical interpretation of that is that more than 50% of subjective judging decisions go to the previous champion - somethin that IS true of bodybuilding history. I can't speak for boxing or the UFC, but I wouldn't doubt it.
