hardness is a subjective term. To you, Dorian looks harder. To me, Ronnie looks harder. So claiming it as an advantage for either bodybuilder is pointless in this discussion. Regarding physical size, I already demonstrated that Ronnie was just as big as Dorian even though he weighed 10 lbs less. Dorian was carrying more body fat and his midsection is twice the size of Ronnie's. You keep making the mistake of assuming the extra weight manifested itself in increased muscle size.
im basing the term 'hardness' on what was written about yates, not necessarily my opinion.
eventhough he looks and is harder than ronnie.
there is no way that ronnie can be 'just as big' as dorian, esp. when you are at the top ifbb level, 10 lbs. makes a big difference.
you are not going to have someone who is 5'11 247 lbs with 4% bodyfat look just as big as someone who is 5'9/5'10 260 lbs. with also 4 % bodyfat. it just aint gonna happen.
also, dorian's midsection was bigger than ronnie's, but ronnie's ass is 3 times the size of yates'.
lastly, i have never seen or heard from anyone, other than peter mcgough, about ronnie's 01 AC form.
every quote about him (esp. about him beating yates) is from 2003 when he weighed about 290.