Bob Cicherillo shares his first hand impressions of the most intense Olympia press conference fights.
Not only is the Mr. Olympia competition the biggest bodybuilding event of the year, it also holds some of the intense moments between competitors as well. Specifically, the Olympia press conference brings out the most intensity year after year. In a sport that sees its athletes mostly separate as they train and only briefly together on stage, the press conference is the one time they can let it all out against fellow competitors. Bob Cicherillo has traditionally hosted the press conference throughout the decades. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Bob Cicherillo shares his pick for the most intense press conference fight he’s ever witnessed.
Bob Cicherillo has been the voice of bodybuilding for quite sometime. Part of that prestigious title comes in the form of hosting the Olympia press conference each year. This is the one time where all of the top competitors get to sit in one room and try to psych each other out before stepping on stage. It’s always an entertaining event that has led to some truly shocking moments. This is especially true if two feuding rivals happen to be involved in the proceedings. Make no mistake, these moments are no staged. Anything can happen.
The press conference is an open even that is often filmed and released to the public. So many people have seen some of the most intense fights and moments that have occurred. But it’s a totally different thing to be there in person – especially if you’re the one on stage between the fighting bodybuilders.
That’s why we asked Bob Cicherillo to share his inside first hand account of some of the most insane Olympia press conference moments. Which one was the most intense that he had ever witnessed? It may not be surprising to some that he picked Kai Greene and Phil Heath. One of the most memorable and best rivalries in the history of the sport, Kai and Phil certainly knew how to push each other’s buttons.
The best moments from the Olympia 2014 press conference featuring Kai Greene vs Phil Heath (above).
“None of it is scripted. Zero,” Bob Cicherillo tells us in our interview. “But those two got into it and they were going back and forth where I thought some tables were going to get pushed out and Kai and Phil might go at it. And you saw that manifested on stage as well. Where they kinda came nose to nose and Phil had enough of Kai’s antics.”
It’s interesting to hear how Cicherillo had a moment where he thought he lost control of the press conference. A truly spur of the moment occurrence that has been remembered for years. Looking at the Olympia and the press conferences in recent years, you can see the hole missing in terms of true boiling intensity. There hasn’t been a rivalry like Kai and Phil since. Surely, people still drum up some drama – but it was seething and all encompassing like Kai Greene vs Phil Heath.
It seems like Bob Cicherillo agrees. He felt it up close and personal right there on the press conference stage.
You can watch Bob Cicherillo share his full behind the scenes account of the best press conference moments in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
