Why aren't people as harsh with aged rock singers (or singers in general) or musicians who aren't anywhere as good as they used to be, yet are still valued by their fans? This shouldn't be any different. Do you think James Hetfield of 2018 sound like he did in his prime (1985-1993), or Axl Rose of 2018 sounding anything like he did up until 1993? Hell no, yet they sell out every arena all across the world. Yes, it's a fair comparison, because Levrone was the best in the world at what he does.
Piss-poor analogy , This is bodybuilding the whole contest is based on your appearance and noting more. Kevin is being judged on who he's competing with and who he was before hand. Does Kevin look good for a 53 year old? Joe-blow? sure , does he look good for a 53 year old Kevin Leverone? no , Kevin was off in 2002 , he didn't compare to previous showings but looked good , Good enough to place high , but this is a slap in the face compared to what he looked like. Arnold took and takes a beating for 1980 and he looked eons better than Kevin does now.
Kevin was exceptional , a truly remarkable bodybuilder , one of the strongest , a winner , competed in the best era and racked up a ton of pro wins , this is just sad , he's not even 50% of what he was , I hate Shawn Ray with a passion but Shawn was right about him.