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 By: Ron Avidan
The question we always ask now is if it will rain on the weekend of the Iron Man Pro. After all, this is sunny Southern California, and it never rains out here. Except for the last three years on the weekend of the Iron Man Pro. I am willing to bet that it will not rain this year, because the odds are in my favor. I am never wrong four times in a wrong. H*ll, this is just like making predictions for the contest. But ever since they moved the contest to Pasadena three years ago, it has always rained there. Pasadena is an excellent place for a contest. The venue, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium is big, roomy, and a great place for the contest. The lighting is always the best on stage, as Michael Neavuex sees to that. Backstage, there is room enough for everyone to get ready, and the audience has a great view on the stage from any seat, which is cool. The People's Choice Awards are held here too, so if you see a star wandering down the street, wave hello.
The expo itself is held right next door in the huge hall they have there, but this year, since they are renovating it and making it bigger, the expo might be in a newly installed tent they built while construction is going on. It doesn't matter where it will be, because I always have a lot of fun at this contest and expo. Because you never know what to expect from the competitors. The city of Pasadena is beautiful too. The Pasadena Civic Center is located very close to Old Pasadena, where restaurants, bars and the famous Colorado Blvd where the Rose Parade goes by every year is held. Right across the street from the venue are lots of cool places to eat also, as well as some excellent shopping. And various hotels are within walking distance too. Quite possibly, this venue is one of the best and most beautiful for an IFBB contest. The press conference. Yes, the Iron Man Pro is one of the few other IFBB pro shows besides the Olympia which has a press conference. Come Friday at 4pm, the men's pro competitors get on the main stage in the expo, where the best emcee in bodybuilding, Lonnie Teper will announce the lineup, and try and guess their weight.
There will be an actual scale on stage, and the competitors will weigh in, although they can keep their clothes, shoes and a backpack with rocks on if they wish. But at least it gives the fans a glimpse on how much they actually weigh, give or take a few pounds. It also gives us an opportunity to ask questions, and even see some of the physiques before prejudging the following morning.
So who will win the Iron Man Pro? Ah, that is the prediction game. Here are my predictions for the Iron Man Pro, based on hype, and a few pics that have been circulated around. 1. Toney Freeman: The biggest name to enter the Iron Man contest at the moment is Big Toney Freeman. The man went into the Europa Super Show last year and won the contest, surprising everyone! Then he went into the 2007 Mr. Olympia, and placed 7th, in front of Dennis James, Markus Ruhl, Branch Warren, and Gunter Schlierkamp.
  Click Image To Enlarge. Toney Freeman At His First Olympia. View More Pics From The 2006 Olympia Here. Big bad Toney Freeman, the X-Man, was finally getting his dues in our sport. However, we must remember that last year, in the 2006 Iron Man, Toney placed a dismal 7th, behind David Henry and Mark Dugdale. So which Toney will come out on Saturday. We shall see.
 
 Click Image To Enlarge. Toney Freeman At The 2006 Iron Man. View More Pics From The 2006 Iron Man Here. Toney is not going to start 2007 like he did 2006. He is going to come out blazing, and get his respect in the sport.
2. David Henry: What can we say about David Henry. Last year at the Iron Man, he looked great, placing 2nd at this show and qualifying for the Olympia. We were all impressed. David, the military man, is going to be a player. But then came the Arnold Classic, where he went to 11th place.
 
 Click Image To Enlarge. David Henry At The 2006 Iron Man. View More Pics From The 2006 Iron Man Here. We like David, we really do, but David's "I am better than you" attitude last year created quite a stir, both for his fans, his haters and his competitors, who resented the new guy coming in. How many competitors put their hand up at a meeting saying 'Don't take my picture'. Wow - can you believe that! So at the 2006 Olympia Press Conference, David wasn't impressed with the tough question I asked him about his attitude. No worries.
This is 2007 - I am willing to forget everything from 2006 and start the new year fresh. I hope David will do that also, as we are all wiser and a little older now.
3. Mark Dugdale: I must admit that with myself having two kids, I have more respect for Mark Dugdale than ever, because how the h*ll does he train and be in the best shape he can possibly be with three young children in the house. I can't even handle it sometimes with two.
Mark, who looked great last year at the 2006 Iron Man Pro, placed 5th. This year, I think, will be his year. It just has too be. Because I believe in Mark, his precontest pictures looks great, and the buzz out there is that Mark is going to finally qualify for the Mr. Olympia, and this will be the show he will do it at. Go Mark Go! When Mark is in contest shape, he looks great, and many of us want to see him succeed.
4. Ahmad Haidar: 2006 wasn't the year for Ahmad, the competitor with the best abs in bodybuilding. He competed in the first three shows of the year, only placing as high as 6th place in one of them, and then took some time off. This year, with a new baby born late last year, Ahmad is once again poised to show us why he is a great bodybuilder. Look for Ahmad to also qualify at the Iron Man Pro!
5. Omar Deckard: The 2006 NPC USA Super Heavyweight and Overall winner is competing in his rookie IFBB pro show, and we have high expectations for Omar. After all, he has had seven months to train, pack on a few pounds, and get ready for his debut here. Omar might have a great chance to get the coveted Olympia qualifier in his pro debut. But competing in the pros is vastly different than competing in an NPC show, so lets see if Omar doesn't get nervous. Still, Omar will do well here in Pasadena.
6. Silvio Samuel Saviour: In 2006, Silvio kept getting better and better, and this year won't be any different. I saw him compete at the 2006 Europa Super Show and was quite impressed, both with his physique and his demeanor, and both with his desire to be better than even in 2007. I don't think that Silvio will disappoint his fans this year, and surprise everyone had Silvio's conditioning improves.
7. Kris Dim: Last year, Kris placed 4th at the Iron Man Pro, but then faded as the early pro shows went on. This year, Kris has some tough competition at the Iron Man, and although he may have learned from his previous flaws, I am not sure that the judges will be easier on him this year than in the past.
For Kris is one of the smaller competitors in the pros, and has a lot of work ahead of him. However, precontest pictures and Kris' positive attitude has made him a fan favorite here.
8. Sergey Shelestov: Sergey had already qualified for the 2007 Olympia, having placed 3rd at the 2006 Grand Prix Romania. This is Sergey's first pro show in the United States, and I am quite anxious in seeing if the buzz at Sergey doing so well in Romania is because he had such a great physique or the competition wasn't as strong there as it is at this show. Nevertheless, with Sergey, you can never know where he will place, but a top ten placing looks to be a lock for him, unless he messes up in the last few days. We shall see very soon.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Sergey Shelestov. 9. Moe Elmoussaoui Moe is coming back to the Iron Man Pro, having just flown in from New Zealand to compete. Precontest picks show Moe about 10 pounds heavier than last year, and Moe has worked on his back, and physique. Of course, I am a little biased, being that I have known Moe for years, and that he is a good friend, but never the less, I feel that this year, Moe will fancy the judges into giving him a few more callouts than in the past. 10. Eryk Bui Eryk Bui, another smaller competitor, did not have a great 2006, and had a lot to prove in 2007. Having placed 8th at the Iron Man in 2006, he didn't make the top 15 in his next two pro shows. This is a new year, and Eryk does have a chance to make the top 10.
Rusty Jeffers Rusty placed 12th last year at the 2005 Iron Man, but got a huge fan base when the judges somehow placed him in 8th place at the 2006 Master's Pro World, when almost everyone else thought he should have been in the top five. Here is Rusty's chance to show to world, and to his fans that he deserves the recognition he get last year as one of the year's underrated pros. A decent showing here with excellent conditioning will keep his internet fans happy.
Luke Wood Luke has some of the best precontest pictures out there, but is someone who fails to complete the final process and preparations in the final week of the precontest prep.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Luke Wood, Five Weeks Out. Hopefully, this won't happen again to Luke, but you never know. I wish Luke will place in the top ten, but again, this lineup is a tough one.
Other competitors include:
 Click Image To Enlarge. Roc Shabazz.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Hidetada Yamagishi At The 2006 Iron Man. View More Pics From The 2006 Iron Man Here.
Hopefully, one of these competitors will come out from the shadows and surprise us all! We shall see come Saturday, February 17th.
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