Fox was only one of many who were unfairly denied. Most ended up retiring or leaving the IFBB around that same time-Robinson, Fox, Szkalak, Padilla, Mentzer. In the case of the first three it was attitude as well as race; Weider understandably didn't want surly personalities representing the sport. Oliva was already cast out and competing against those guys in non-IFBB shows.
While i understand Weider's desire for winners with civility ie Zane, Dickerson, Bannout, Haney, it's a shame because with a little more compromise to the guys mentioned above as well as greater fairness Weider could've allowed BB to be a lot more interesting post-Schwarzenegger.
The above names could've taken turns deservedly winning Olympias instead of the so-so bunch that did. It would've allowed the development & retention of long-term rivalries that never lasted because of the political hijinks that led to the departure of most of the best BBs of the day. With that happening all these great BBs might stuck around till the mid-late 80s.
good post
i actually think weider and his anal retentive politics did more to retard bbing than progressing it.
i don't pretend to know which one was the bigger fuck up, ben or joe. i tend to think ben. he seemed completely deluded on what bbing was all about. in fact, when i look at ben i have no idea why he was involved with bbing in the 1st place. i may be wrong, but he seemed to have napoleon syndrome.
the funny thing is that, apart from joe bringing arnold to usa, arnold did EVERYTHING to promote bbing from his own back. he was simply that type of personality that would not be denied. i actually think, if anything, joe and ben tried to hold him back at times, probably felt he was getting too big for his boots, but arnold was relentless. he knew that if he got the public on side no one could stop him. it worked and he's been doing it ever since. ben and joe just went along for the ride and they're still attempting to squeeze that ride dry (arnold still makes the covers
) don't you think it's interesting that, despite arnold's admission of steroid use and his nazi heritage, the public loved him and still do. that's because he never took these things or himself too seriously. he got out there, people knew what to expect and THAT'S WHY he was never treated like a freak. why was/is this never done with the others
as far as the public know they are all locked up in a gym with 15 needles sticking out of their glutes.
you would think that the weiders didn't learn a thing from arnold, but i believe they did. however, joe and ben have enormous egos themselves and were bitter that they were almost completely ignored by arnold and everyone that was backing him, including the general public. i believe ben claimed the olympic games participation thing as his baby and he believed that was his ticket to recognition. alas, it wasn't to be so they settled for stupid monikers like 'father of bbing', 'inventer of weider principles' and that stupid profile of his head atop a muscular body
on every weider product.
i believe weider MADE CERTAIN that no bber would rise above them again and thus the monopoly and stifling of any personality that came along after arnold.
arnold's near idebtical twin in boxing was ali. ali was equally relentless and became a celebrity far bigger than boxing. again, they tried to stifle him (vietnam war, etc) but his charisma would not be denied. he, like arnold, learnt extremely fast what the public wanted.
here's where the comparison ends. don king has just as big an ego as joe/ben but he didn't have a monopoly. he didn't like playing second fiddle and the guys in his stable were largely subdued (larry holmes), but he would simply latch on to whatever star personality came to the fore (tyson) and simply steal them right from under their previous manager. king really is a sight to behold. he will quite literally step over his fallen gladiator, completely ignoring him on the canvas, and walk straight over to the new champion praising him as if he was a god.
guys like fox, oliva, nubret, strydom, platz, eddie robinson (robbie too introverted imo), levrone, priest, ray, flex should have been huge celebrities, each bringing a different character, bit of drama ie (back to boxing) tyson was a completely different persona to ali, but both were HUGE box office. i believe weider should have put his full backing behind these guys. it was there for the taking. you had 'the myth', 'brutal', the 'golden eagle', 'the black panther', but unfortunately stars were only known to the bbing community and, even then, you rarely heard from them. that's because weider had them tightly reigned in. arnold got out there and got in everyone's face.
weider should have given them plenty of room to flourish. vince mcmahon had the right idea but his support network and timing was wayyy off. the supplement companies (backers) loved the idea, but:
1. he had second rate bbers. stifled, oh sooo politically correct entities don't make good rebels ie god fearing brothers like haney and coleman DON'T complain, do they ronnie? jay?
there's a reason guys like this rise to the top of the ifbb.
2. timing - he was under huge political pressure to present a 'clean' image and take it seriously (funny how weider wasn't, but then he was a regular at the oval office wasn't he?
) and what came next was a bunch of bbers with conditioning that wouldn't have got a look in at the mr idaho. exit stage left, supplement companies, exit stage right, wbf.
foot note:
none of those bbers EVER gained favour or success again (in bbing), despite some paying up the ridiculous penalties imposed for their return, and people wonder why no one of any calibre followed lee. lee should have studied up more on bbing political history.
thanks for your time. i know it was a little long, but i feel for these guys. they put it ALL on the line for their chosen sport and all they ever get for it was SHIT. to say that bbing champions are nothing more than drug monsters is disingenuous, degrading and, imo, motivated by an innate sense of fear and jealousy.
rant over.
