Ronnie, although very good in 1998 didn't take anything to another level. Let's be real. Did he deserve to win? Absolutely. But at 247 pounds, he was not the biggest, driest, nor the most complete to ever grace the stage. Hell, back in 1993 Yates was 10 pounds bigger, dryer and more complete from head to toe, front to back. Ronnie had too many close calls as champ to be considered the most dominant ever. To make no mention of his embarrassing loss to Gunter. Or inevitably losing to Jay.
With regard to 2003, heralding such a physique as the "be all" illustrates exactly how far the level of conditioning had plummeted at the pro level. He was huge and surprisingly hard at the 2003 contest, but hardly in top notch condition. In fact, he was quite soft and realistically in the type of condition one would expect being several weeks out. 2003 Ronnie may have pleased those with a fetish for size, but in doing so, he sacrificed conditioning and proportions.