{"id":13607,"date":"2025-03-13T01:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T18:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13607"},"modified":"2025-03-13T01:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T18:01:10","slug":"ali-bilal-to-boycott-arnold-classic-after-arnolds-bogus-remark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=13607","title":{"rendered":"Ali Bilal To Boycott Arnold Classic After Arnold&#8217;s \u201cBogus\u201d Remark"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>M&amp;F<\/em> previously reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger had courted controversy at his classic bodybuilding show this year during commentary, by labeling the board shorts worn in the Mens Physique Division as \u201cbogus.\u201d Now the trophy winner Ali Bilal has responded and unlike The Terminator star, it seems he won\u2019t be back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been 5 days since I won the show, and if you ask me how I feel, if I\u2019m happy with the win, of course I am,\u201d said Bilal in a heartfelt video posted to his 1.3 million Instagram followers on March 8, 2025. \u201cBut it\u2019s just (given) me a bit of mixed feelings, the show, because everything I see on social media, everything that\u2019s going on, like Arnold saying on show day that Men\u2019s Physique was (a) stupid division and I don\u2019t know why the IFBB created it, it just killed the whole happy vibes for me, I don\u2019t know why. So, I have decided this was my last ever Arnold Classic. I\u2019m not going to go to a show where my division, where I get treated with disrespect.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-related article link-related__with-thumb\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article__thumbnail\" href=\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/flexonline\/flex-news\/arnold-schwarzenegger-critique-mens-physique-shorts-as-bogus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"article__figure\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:56%;\" class=\"ratio-based-placeholder\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Arnold-Schwarzenegger-Critique-Mens-Physique-Competitors-Shorts-.jpg?w=150&amp;h=84&amp;crop=1&amp;quality=86&amp;strip=all\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, 280px\" alt=\"Arnold Schwarzenegger Critique Men\u2019s Physique Competitors Shorts\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\" data-fallback-img=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Arnold-Schwarzenegger-Critique-Mens-Physique-Competitors-Shorts-.jpg?quality=86&amp;strip=all\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Who is Ali Bilal?<\/h2>\n<p>Ali Bilal is an immensely popular <a href=\"https:\/\/vocal.media\/longevity\/ali-bilal-from-afghan-refugee-to-worlds-biggest-bodybuilding-stage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Afghanistan-born bodybuilder<\/a> and was the winner of the 2025 Arnold Classic Mens Physique title. In 2024, he was runner-up at the Mr Olympia competition to Ryan Terry. As one of the flag bearers for his division, Bilal has taken umbrage to Arnold\u2019s dismissal of his division.<\/p>\n<p>Schwarzenegger\u2019s most recent negativity towards the Mens Physique Division went down during the 2025 Arnold Classic live stream, when he criticized the group during commentary on the show for wearing longer shorts than those in the Open or Classic ranks. \u201cThe interesting thing is they also have really well-developed thighs \u2014 a lot of these guys \u2014 so I don\u2019t know why they make them wear those long shorts,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s bogus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bilal has not only taken issue with Arnold\u2019s attitude, but his prize money to boot. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair that (the) Open Division get $500,000, Classic gets 60K, and the Mens Physique Division only get $10,000. It\u2019s not fair. We prep as hard as the classic guys or the open guys, we train as hard, bring good conditioning, bring good physique. If you just go to (the) Middle East, or whatever Asian countries, if you see how popular Mens Physique is, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continues: \u201cIt brings so much money. Just see my reach. You know, when I post a video, or some Open guy posts a video, nothing against anyone, it gets a crazy reach. It\u2019s a very, very popular division.\u201d Bilal believes that in contrast, he has been treated with respect at other big shows. \u201cImagine you prepping for 16-weeks and then you go to a show and then someone tell(s) you, \u2018Oh, who invited you here? We don\u2019t even like you\u2019. It doesn\u2019t feel good I think.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Ali Balal Says He Won\u2019t Be Back<\/h2>\n<p>Balal further confirmed his intentions to not be back at the Arnold Classic in his accompanying caption, taking issue with the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/flexonline\/flex-news\/arnold-schwarzenegger-critique-mens-physique-shorts-as-bogus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Schwarzenegger used the word \u201cbogus\u201d to describe Men\u2019s Physique<\/a>. \u201cIf they really wanted to see legs, they should have invited the (212 Division) instead of Mens Physique,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI wasn\u2019t even planning to do the show in the first place, but the team reached out to me asking me to compete. In return we get disrespected for $25000. I felt like I needed to come out and highlight this, since I won the show and no one else would speak their mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The prize money for Mens Physique at the 2024 Olympia was also well below that of the Open and Classic Divisions but clocked in at $50,000, double that of The Arnold Classic. Bilal\u2019s fans were quick to support their outspoken hero. \u201cThis is a bold stance only a few can take,\u201d wrote one follower. He was also backed up by notable bodybuilders including Erin Banks. \u201cMy last year as well,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThey have to do better.\u201d M&amp;F will keep you up to date as the story develops.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/alihealth_1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">To follow Ali Bilal on Instagram, click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/flexonline\/flex-news\/ali-bilal-to-boycott-arnold-classic-after-arnolds-bogus-remark\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>M&amp;F previously reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger had courted controversy at his classic bodybuilding show this year during commentary, by labeling the board shorts worn in the Mens Physique Division as \u201cbogus.\u201d Now the trophy winner Ali Bilal has responded and unlike The Terminator star, it seems he won\u2019t be back. \u201cIt\u2019s been 5 days since &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}