This whole debate is pointless, because the name of the game is BODYbuilding, not MASSbuilding. There could only possibly be an argument if Ronnie brought something acceptable to the table in 2003/04, when he came over 280 lbs. I'm saying this because Dorian's structure, balance, density and conditioning are so superior to Ronnie's at the 250+ lbs, that there's simply no contest there.
Even at the 97 O, when Dorian was 266 lbs for pre-judging and over 270 lbs at the night show, his gut was still only as wide as Ronnie's at the 99 O. And remember that Ronnie was some 20 lbs lighter for that contest than Dorian was at the 97 O. Now, let's compare guts. Ronnie is only able to have a classic v-taper, with clealy defined obliques and abs, when he's around 250 lbs; Dorian can pull that of even at 260+ lbs - he was still pretty much gut-free at the pre-judging in 97; his gut was only clearly apparent at the night show, when he ballooned to 270+ lbs.
Dorian's overall superiority is obvious in that it is apparent across bodyweight ranges: the 250+ lbs, 1993 Dorian is superior to the 250+ lbs 98 and 99 Ronnie, and the 270+ lbs, 1997 Dorian is superior to the 270+ lbs, 2005 Ronnie. How so? Well, at 270+ lbs, Ronnie was holding water, had thighs that clearly overpowered his upper body and traps-delts complex that overpowered his chest, especially in terms of width - and Ronnie never looked impressive in the side-chest pose, so that would not make up for it. Dorian, conversely, was still very dry and balanced at 270+ lbs, maintaining an almost perfect structural symmetry. He had a gut, like Ronnie, but his abs and obliques were clearly more defined and visible than Ronnie's at that weight and his overall granite-hardness and dryness made him looked more etched than Ronnie.
At 250+ lbs, Ronnie has a good taper and good striations on his quads. But he lacks chest thickness, christmas-tree development, trap mass, calves and overall etchiness and development on his hams. He compares poorly to Dorian in overall lat width, thickness and density. He can compare to Dorian when it comes to lat details, but not in the mid back and lower back. And when you consider just how much thicker Dorian's back is at that weight, you understand why he wins both the rear lat spread AND the back double biceps, Ronnie's signature pose. Ronnie only equals Dorian in lat width when he's over 280 lbs, at which point it becomes irrelevant, because Ronnie loses so much detail, etchiness and hardness at that weight. And amazingly, even at 280+ lbs, Ronnie sill can't match Dorian for lat thickness and development of the christmass-tree! Dorian's traps, quads and calves are more massive, his hams more etched and his overall hardness and dryness FAR superior to Ronnie's, when both of them are 250+ lbs.
The point, then, is that the 250+ lbs O Ronnie would not be able to defeat the 250+ O Dorian - evident by the fact that he never did -, because Ronnie's advantages over The Yates at that bodyweight range, his superior details on his quads and better taper, would not be enough to compensate for Dorian's superiorities, which includes: great taper(though not as good as Ronnie's), superior width and thickness of the latissimus dorsi and chest, bigger quads, traps, calves, forearms and far superior density and overall dryness. Ronnie's slightly better taper would not be enough to compensate for all of that; the difference in ttaper and detail would have to be dramatic, similar to Flex Wheeler's, to make up for all of Dorian's vast superiorities in otther areas.
Ronnie's musculature only becomes as dense and thick-looking as Dorian's at the 250+ lbs range when he steps onstage at 280+ lbs plus. NOW, if Ronnie were able to keep his advantages in taper and quad detail at that weight, then there's no question: he would defeat Yates. The problem is that he looks three years pregnant with an alien queen at that weight, besides that he loses his superb quad details and delt striations at that weight. A 280+ lbs Ronnie with the detail and taper he had in 98 would be absolutely unbeatable. he problem here is one of physiology: no 5'11 man, with an average bone structure, can carry 280+ lbs of muscle without losing his structural symmetry, because at that weight, his mucles start to pile into one another.
So, Ronnie matches Dorian for massivness a 280+ lbs, but the 250+ lbs Dorian wins that one, because, while both are freakishly developed at that bodyweight, Dorian looks like a bodybuilder while Ronnie looks like a mall Santa. In the case of the 250+ lbs Dorian against the 250+ lbs Ronnie, it is the case of Dorian simply making Ronnie look like an underdeveloped child. It goes to show just how Dorian's structure is superior to Ronnie that he can only match Dorian in muscle-mass-per-square-inch when he's 30 lbs heavier!
A more fair fight would be the 250+ lbs Ronnie - when he was at his absolute best - against the 1997 O, 270 lbs Dorian, when he was at this worst. Yet, to show just how Dorian is superior, Ronnie still loses. At this comparison, Ronnie's taper is vastly superior to Dorian's and becomes a major advantage over him. But consider that, amazingly, Dorian still shows roughly as much detail on his back(check pics from the 97 O) at 270 lbs as he does at the 250+ lbs range. And his dryness and conditioning are just as good! As Peter McGough put it so succintly, on his review of the 97 O:
"This year, Dorian came in at 266 lbs for pre-judging and balooned to 272 lbs for the night show. The added weight translated into greater fullness on his chest, delts and lats. The minus was his midsection, of which more later..."
In other words, the ONLY thing that deteriorated, when Dorian came in at 270 lbs, was his midsection! His other strenghs actually became GREATER strenghs at that weight. So, the 250+ lbs Ronnie would basically come into the contest against a man who had a development and density that made his look like that of an amateur: if the 250+ lbs Dorian is already thicker and denser than the 250+ lbs Ronnie, than the 270+ lbs Yates rapes Ronnie in these two categories.
Now, the question is: would a much better taper be enough to give the victory for Ronnie? Most would say no. Why? Well, because the 270 lbs Dorian would take out ronnie in ALL the mandatory poses; even in the back double biceps, Ronnie's signature pose! The 250+ lbs Dorian would probably lose the back double biceps and tie with Ronnie in the most muscular, but the 270 lbs Dorian would simply slay Ronnie in all he poses. And guess what? You can't win a bodybuilding contest if you lose all the mandatory poses, een if your taper is vasly superior! Game over: Dorian defeats Ronnie even when you match the worst of dorian against the best of Ronnie.
The 270 bs Dorian can also match the 280+ bs Ronnie for thickness, except that he surpasses Ronnie for density and detail! And when you consider that the 280+ lbs Ronnie has such a HORRENDOUS taper, it basically becomes a question of which is worst. Is the 287 bs Ronnie worst than the 270 lbs Dorian? Yes, he is. Practically all of the weight difference is in the gut, whcih is MUCH bigger than Dorian's ever was.
So, in conclusion and summarizing, the best of Dorian defeats the best and worst of Ronnie by a considerabe margin and the worst of Dorian defeats the worst and best of Ronie by a small margin. it's gae over, folks...and the game was played eight times before and always ended up the same.
SUCKMYMUSCLE
