"By far the best bodybuilder ever" - When Ronnie Coleman shared his views on Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ronnie Coleman is often praised as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time along with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ronnie won eight Mr. Olympia titles over the course of his career. He is tied with Lee Haney for the most number of Mr. Olympia titles won by an individual.
Ronnie has always admired Arnold. During the 2021 Arnold Classic event, the GOAT bodybuilder was awarded the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award. After receiving the award, Ronnie gave a speech in which he termed Arnold Schwarzenegger the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
In December 2019, Ronnie Coleman was interviewed by the founder of Valuetainment, Patrick Bet-David.
Ronnie Coleman opens up about Arnold and himself
Patrick began the interview by mentioning that Ronnie rates Arnold Schwarzenegger on his list of top five bodybuilders. He then showed the legendary bodybuilder a photo of him and Arnold side by side and asked him what his opinion was about the photo.
The GOAT Bodybuilder claimed he was in a lot better condition, but that Arnold was so big and had so much shape. Ronnie said that Arnold was in greater shape than him. Patrick next asked where Arnold would be if he had a nutritionist like Chad Nicholls.
Ronnie Coleman replied,
"Arnold would've been by far the best bodybuilder ever. Nobody could think of touching him."
The King confirmed that Arnold would've been the best bodybuilder ever and no one would be capable of reaching his level. Patrick was stunned that Ronnie wasn't even holding back from making that statement. Ronnie shook his head and replied,
"Naw, naw, naw, look at that shape. Look at that chest. Nobody got that even today."
Ronnie said nobody had that kind of chest even when he was a professional bodybuilder himself. Coleman praised Arnold for having the biggest chest ever. He added that if Arnold had modern nutrition and technology back in the day, Ronnie felt he would look like a little boy standing next to the Terminator star.
The GOAT bodybuilder went on to say that if Arnold had a nutrionist like Chad Nicholls, even Lee Haney or himself couldn't reach his level in bodybuilding. Patrick replied that this was the highest level of praise that Ronnie could possibly give to Arnold.
Patrick then shared a photo of young Ronnie Coleman and asked for his opinion on the photo. Ronnie replied,
"That's me. Learning the game right there."
Following that, Patrick shared another photo of a young Ronnie and one of him in his prime. Patrick asked Ronnie what he thought about the photo of his younger self and whether he had any doubt he could win the competition one day.
Ronnie answered:
"No, this is just me having fun, not even thinking about, you know, me being greater... I'm just doing this for the free membership."
When asked whether he had the best back, the GOAT bodybuilder replied with a yes and confirmed that his back is the best ever feature compared to other bodybuilders.
Since the interview, Ronnie Coleman has won the Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award and still does workouts in the gym but only with lightweights due to his health condition.