Arnold vs Sergio - Part 2
1971 - 1971 was the Year That Could Have Been in the Arnold vs. Sergio saga. After a disappointing year for Sergio in 1970, a year in which Arnold defeated him not once but twice, bodybuilding fans all over the world were excited for another showdown between these two genetic giants.
In 1971, just like in previous years, the NABBA Mr. Universe contest would be held in London, England one week before the Mr. Olympia contest. Arnold had won the NABBA Mr. Universe for the last four years, once as an amateur in 1967 and three times as a professional from 1968-1970. The Austrian Oak was looking forward to defending his title again before repeating as Mr. Olympia in 1971.
The 1971 NABBA Mr. Universe was memorable because of the return of Bill Pearl to the contest stage. The legendary Pearl, already a three time NABBA Mr. Universe winner, was considered one of the best bodybuilders of his era. Approaching his 41st birthday, Bill made an announcement in the pages of Iron Man Magazine one full year before the contest in which he challenged anyone to come to London and try to beat him in the Mr. Universe contest. Bill stated that this would be his last contest before he retired and he wanted to give everyone the chance to defeat him at his best.
Not only was Arnold looking forward to competing with Pearl, a man he considered one of the best bodybuilders of his generation, but Sergio was also anxious to compete in the NABBA Mr. Universe contest for the first time. Nautilus founder Arthur Jones was training Sergio Oliva that year and he wanted to send The Myth over to London to beat Pearl and teach him a lesson. Jones and Pearl had a disagreement over the Nautilus equipment enterprise and nothing would have made the eccentric millionaire happier than to see his student (Oliva) teach the legendary Pearl a lesson by watching him go down in defeat.
Sergio was looking bigger than ever in the pictures that Arthur Jones took of him in Deland, Florida in the summer of 1971. Jones was convinced that his new Nautilus equipment would revolutionize the fitness world by introducing a series of machines that would eventually make barbells and dumbbells obsolete. His method of training had his students train to failure on each exercise and quickly rush to the next exercise with no rest. He believed in training fast, brief and intense, a radically different way of training compared to the typical high volume training routines followed at the time.
Mike Katz recounted the story of a letter that Arnold received from Sergio during this time period. Katz was in Arnold’s apartment, waiting to go to the gym to train. Arnold was opening up his mail when he stopped, frozen in his tracks. Katz asked Arnold what was wrong. “This son of a bitch, this can’t be real. This must be some kind of trick photography”, Arnold said with a shocked look on his face.
When Katz glanced at the picture that Arnold was looking at, it was an incredible black and white photo of Oliva in which Sergio’s arms looked bigger than his head. Attached to the picture was a note that said, “See you at the Olympia”. The psych out for the 1971 Mr. Olympia had begun!
Unfortunately, a turn of political events began to unfold which would eventually rob the bodybuilding world of the highly anticipated rematch between the two best bodybuilders in the world. At the 1970 IFBB congress in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the IFBB decided that they would begin banning any of their athletes who competed outside of the IFBB.
Serge Nubret, who had recently been elected as Vice President of the IFBB, was designated as the promoter of the 1971 IFBB Mr. Olympia contest, which was to be held in Paris, France. According to the book, Muscles, Smoke & Mirrors, Volume II, IFBB President Ben Weider initially wanted Arnold to compete in both the 1971 NABBA Mr. Universe and the IFBB Mr. Olympia. Weider thought an Arnold victory over the legendary Bill Pearl would be great publicity for the IFBB and would help to propel the growing organization ahead of the well established NABBA organization.
Nubret, however, reminded Ben Weider of the new rules that were instituted at the IFBB congress one year earlier. As the promoter of the contest, Nubret needed the reigning Mr. Olympia to be eligible to compete in Paris for the Mr. Olympia. Weider eventually agreed and delivered the bad news to Arnold that he would not be able to compete at the NABBA Mr. Universe that year.
Arnold was not happy to hear that he would be forced to sit out the 1971 NABBA Mr. Universe. The 24 year old Schwarzenegger was a hungry competitor who was anxious to prove his superiority over everyone in the bodybuilding world. Over the last few years, he had defeated such bodybuilding icons as Dave Draper, Boyer Coe, Dennis Tinerino, Franco Columbu and even his boyhood idol, Reg Park. His victories over Oliva the previous year had cemented his role as the King of Bodybuilding.
Schwarzenegger had made a habit of dominating the NABBA Mr. Universe contest as part of his yearly contest regimen. His victory at the 1967 NABBA Mr. Universe at the young age of 20 years old had gained him international recognition in the bodybuilding community. With four NABBA Mr. Universe wins under his belt, he felt very confident that the 1971 title was his for the taking and he was ready to take up Bill Pearl on his public challenge.
Schwarzenegger was looking huge as the 1971 contest season got closer. He had been photographed with rising star Ed Corney over in Germany as they worked out together at a Munich gym for a posing exhibition. Arnold was definitely stepping up his game to secure his position as the best bodybuilder in the world.
Even if Arnold could not make the trip overseas to compete in London, Sergio Oliva was ready to make the trip to take on Bill Pearl. Despite warnings from the IFBB, several athletes from that organization decided to take their chances by competing against the man who many considered a legend in the sport. Reg Park and Frank Zane were also included in the line-up for the Pro NABBA Mr. Universe.
Alas, things went from bad to worse for Sergio Oliva. In a somewhat controversial decision, Sergio was awarded second place behind the massive 243 pound Pearl. Sergio was huge, as always, but his muscular definition was lacking again. Oliva was not conducive to the judging system practiced in London. The competitors are led out in front of the judges in flat lighting and are compared over and over again. Sergio normally would pump up for hours in preparation for a competition. Unfortunately, after a few long hours in front of the judges at the prejudging, Sergio actually began to shrink right before their eyes.
Bill Pearl, to his credit, was perfectly prepared for the competition. Massive, thick and well shaped, Pearl sported a golden bronze tan and an air of superiority over his fellow competitors. As a three time Mr. Universe champion, Bill felt at home in front of this judging panel and it was often he and not the head judge that controlled the proceedings. Frank Zane, who was competing against Pearl, Oliva and Park that day, recalled one part of the prejudging when a judge asked the competitors to hit a certain pose. Pearl looked at the judge and politely shook his head, letting the judging panel know that it would not be beneficial to bother with that.
One week later, the 1971 IFBB Mr. Universe was held in Paris, France along with the IFBB Mr. Universe contest. Because of the new ruling of the IFBB, Sergio was not allowed to compete in the Mr. Olympia and attempt to regain his lost title. Franco Columbu, who had accompanied his friend Arnold to Paris, was also suspended for, of all things, competing in the 1970 AAU Mr. World contest in Columbus, Ohio, a contest that also featured Arnold and Sergio.
Another exception to the new IFBB ban was Albert Beckles from England. Although Albert was in attendance in London one week earlier to compete in the NABBA Mr. Universe, in fact winning the medium height class in the amateur division, he was still allowed to compete in the IFBB Mr. Universe in Paris. Albert went on to win the overall at the IFBB Mr. Universe, beating out Ahmet Enunlu from Turkey and Ed Corney from the USA, among others.
With no competitors to go up against, a massive Arnold Schwarzenegger won the 1971 Mr. Olympia contest unopposed. Arnold was definitely improved from a year ago with even more muscle mass and improved definition. His normally impressive arms were even bigger and his legs were remarkably improved.
Sergio was given the opportunity to guest pose that evening and he looked much better than he had only one week earlier in London. Unfortunately, the bodybuilding fans were not given the chance to see Sergio and Arnold posedown against each other as they had a year ago.
As Arnold accepted the $1000 in cash from promoter Serge Nubret and Joe Weider, the bodybuilding fans were left with an empty feeling. It would be one more year before the bodybuilding world would get a chance to see Sergio and Arnold face off again. This time, Oliva would show up in his lifetime best condition. Would Arnold be able to hold off The Myth at his physical best or would the Austrian Oak figure out another way to beat his most formidable opponent? All the details of that classic confrontation coming up in Part 3!
Part 3 of the Arnold vs Sergio rivalry coming up soon!
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