Derek Lunsford Defeats Nick Walker In Pittsburgh – IronMag Bodybuilding & Fitness Blog

by Christian Duque

Let me start off by saying that this was one heck of a great contest. Derek and Nick gave their all and battled hard onstage. But so did other guys like Martin and William. Krizo was impressive as well, but we’ll get to him in a little bit. Overall this was a very top-tier competition. And not only that, it was the very first time that Pro bodybuilding was offered at the president’s show. That’s right folks, although Venice Beach may have been where bodybuilding was born and New York may be where bodybuilding has been its strongest, Pittsburgh is the power hub of the biggest bodybuilding federation in the world.

And that has special significance because Pittsburgh has always drawn out of a Who’s Who of the bodybuilding world. Everybody that is smart wants to go there to show respect to the president. Of course we can’t forget what happened to Big Ramy some years ago. When The Egyptian Phenom decided he would not show up to pose and didn’t give a reason why – for 10 days – he went on to lose his Olympia title later that year in Las Vegas. Coincidence? I think not. Big Ramy might as well have dropped his pants and taken a dump on the President’s stage. Ramy’s career has been in the toilet ever since he pulled that nonsense.

Pittsburgh also has special significance for guest posers. There used to be a day and age when you could only see the very best bodybuilders at the Olympia or the Arnold Classic, but as the president’s show got more stacked, fans started seeing them appearing at a third stage. Pittsburgh became the place to be where fans could come from all over the world to see their favorite bodybuilders up close and personal. Not only would the superstars guest pose, but they would walk around freely. The venue was also far less crowded than Columbus or Las vegas. It became one of the best kept secrets in the sport for hardcore fans.

Now that you have some background we can delve into the actual show. This was a major contest – it was a blockbuster event. It wasn’t just Nick Walker’s comeback show, but it was also a sort of Road to the Olympia for Derek Lunsford. Although he already won the Arnold Classic, I believe he wanted to do Pittsburgh to show the president that he was very serious about reclaiming the Mr Olympia. He would be the second man in over 60 years of bodybuilding history to pull off such a feat. But with his win in Pittsburgh, I think Derek has solidified himself as the number one contender. Even though The Persian Wolf may occasionally drop a post on Instagram all the way from Iran, nobody is talking about him at this point in time. He has become largely an afterthought. And even Samson, your reigning Mr O, was in Pittsburgh and nobody really gave him any kind of attention.

The entire sport is fixated on Derek. There was also a lot of attention placed on Nick Walker because this was supposed to be the show where Nick proved himself to the rest of the world. And I believe he did that, but didn’t get the win.

A lot of the bodybuilding pundits are saying that The Mutant did just that. They claimed that he was able to bring a level of size and condition unlike anything he had in the past. That is true to a point but he also was battling with a mid-section that he could not control. He was able to look his best, I will definitely give him that, but he wasn’t really outsizing Derek as much as most people thought he would. Plus I thought that there was enough distention in the midsection to warrant some attention. And by that I mean he should have been scored down – he wasn’t. Nonetheless the judges presented a reality that my eyes just didn’t see. They said that Nick and Derek were at a tie. In my opinion Derek beat Nick in the prejudging and beat him in the night show. I didn’t think it was all that close, but that’s not what was told to the world. Was this more marketing than reality? You decide.

Bodybuilding fans thought that Nick had been robbed. They were all too ready to make that point. It was almost ironic to see the various message boards and Facebook groups lighting up about politics. I have to admit when I started reading all the comments dealing with politics, and worse yet, hearing commentators talk about politics, I just busted out laughing. Nick Walker was given a gift at last year’s New York Pro against Martin Fitzwater. Nick Walker has been given a lot of gifts. He should be the last person that I would think would be upset at politics. Politics have been very kind to him – only they were not going to be so kind as to give him the win over Derek Lunsford. I believe that Derek was far more polished and brought much more quality mass. Had the judges put Derek in second place, it would have been an utter travesty.

Nonetheless the fans could not stop talking about the robbery. Here we are on the night of the 13th, three days after the decision, and people are talking about it more and more. And what I love most about the contest is the fact that Derek exemplified good sportsmanship. He approached Nick right after the win and instead of dropping to his knees like Ronnie Coleman would or jumping around like a stage clown, he went straight to Nick, and gave him words of encouragement. Former Mr Olympia Phil Heath did the same thing. He encouraged Nick to stay the course. And the reason for this is because a lot of people thought that if Nick didn’t win in Pittsburgh that he would pack it up for the year. Again that’s what the word on the street was at last year’s New York Pro. And I think that is why he got the win over a much better Martin Fitzwater. That being said, Nick is here to stay. He confirmed he would do New York and that he is not going to let his second place in Pittsburgh stop him.

At the same time, there was a lot of quality in the Top 6. William Bonack at 42 years of age has been able to defy aging and continues to be a very strong threat. He brought tremendous muscle, excellent separation, and very nice flow to his muscle. He is also a competitor that has won the Arnold Classic twice and placed as high as Mr Olympia Runner up. He knows how to pose and he knows how to stand up against giants. Also, Fitzwater looked phenomenal. Granted he did not come in the condition he wanted. Martin still has the nicest looking physique on stage. His shape is second to none. His flow and symmetry are also unparalleled. He just did not come in ulta-peeled condition. Or at least not in the kind of condition that would have allowed him to win the show. And rest assured, Martin could have defeated everybody. Nonetheless, taking top three is by no means a bad day. And then you look at Krizo. Krizo looked phenomenal as soon as he took the stage. I ate my words calling him an Instagram champion, but the problem is he was not ready to pose for as long as these guys had to pose for. Eventually he started to fade and he was not able to keep the judges’ attention. He still made top six and he still made tremendous improvements, but I don’t think that he prepared anywhere near enough for a show of this magnitude.

There is a lot to take away from the Pittsburgh and we will definitely be giving the fans a lot more perspectives of this contest in the coming days. That being said, I think that Derek has made his mark on the bodybuilding world. If we look back to 2009 when Jay Cutler won back the title, everyone knew that he was going to come back and there was going to be a reckoning day with Dexter Jackson. Very few people thought that Dexter would be able to hang on. But what Derek is doing is totally different than what Jay did. Jay simply hunkered down and prepared for the Olympia all year long. Derek took on the reigning Mr Olympia in Columbus and kicked his ass. Now he won in Pittsburgh against the guy who media hype would have you believe is the next Mr Olympia. I know they say it was a tie, but I think Nick got his ass handed to him. So when it comes to the Olympia, who is going to be Derek’s real competition? The guy that he beat in Columbus earlier in the year or the guy that he beat a couple years back for the Sandow? He has defeated everybody. There is nobody that’s going to beat Lunsford in Las Vegas if he continues along this path.

I think the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro can be summed up as Nick’s successful return and Derek’s solidifying his position as the number one contender for the 2025 Mr Olympia. I know that Nick’s fans will probably hate me saying that Derek handily beat Nick but sometimes the truth hurts. Who do you think should have won Pittsburgh? Do you think that Derek will be the second man in history to reclaim the Mr Olympia? As always, I hope you enjoyed reading my article, here, at Iron Magazine. I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. And don’t forget to copy and paste a link to this article on all your social media feeds. It’s guaranteed to drum up considerable conversation.