"Don’t prop these guys up" - Bob Cicherillo responds to fans and critics telling Big Ramy he's still on top of the game

Since the culmination of the Arnold Classic earlier this month, former IFBB professional and commentator Bob Cicherillo has been at the brunt of heated discussions on the state of the sport.

Bob Cicherillo has had debates with fellow commentators regarding the criteria the judges use to place athletes on stage. Perhaps more interestingly, right after the show, he called for Big Ramy to take a break from performing on stage to focus on his physique.

In a recent episode of Muscular Development's Power Hour, Bob urged the audience to stop hyping up former Olympia champion Big Ramy:

"The fans, don’t prop these guys [Ramy] up and give them false hope. Be realistic. I give him an honest answer. If he can’t get back to where he was, I would say maybe he needs to look at something else. What’s option B? Be 10th at the next Olympia?"

Cicherillo reiterated that he has no personal quams with Ramy, rather, he likes him. Considering the issues Ramy is facing at the moment, Bob urged everyone to be realistic about their position within the sport:

"If the problems that Ramy has can be fixed, then I’m all for it. Why would I not want him to come back? He’s one of the best bodybuilders in the world, love the guy. But if you can’t, why would you want to put a 80% Ramy on stage? We all age. We all don’t get better as we go. We all end up with problems and injuries and stuff. That’s the essence of any sport."

Cicherillo does not believe Ramy to be a serious competitor this year after seeing his performance at the Arnold Classic. Bob warned fans that propping up the former champion may be detrimental to him:

"But if you truly care about Ramy or anybody in that position, don’t give him false impressions of what he can put out there and what he can’t."

---

"I didn’t tell Ramy to retire" - Bob Cicherillo responds to accusations of pressuring Ramy into retirement

Bob Cicherillo has been vocal about Ramy's future in the sport since the Classic. He has come under fire for his opinions, with even Ramy's training partner Dennis James calling him out.

Bob responded to accusations of pressuring Ramy into retirement and added that negative changes in the Egyptian's physique are obvious to the trained eye. He said:

"Number one, I didn’t tell Ramy to retire. Number two, if you can’t see the differences in his physique, then you got no business commentating bodybuilding. It’s very obvious and evident he’s not the same guy he was a few years ago. He’s got some problems which they brought up themselves."

Well-respected voices surrounding the sport have urged Ramy to retire after the 2023 show. This includes Lee Priest, who asked the Egyptian bodybuilder to act in movies instead.

Cicherillo, on the other hand, wants Ramy to take time off to fix the issues in his physique:

"What’s Ramy need to do in my expert opinion? Take some time off. Get your physique back where you got to get it. Fix whatever problems you got going."

Ramy has responded to his critics who have called for his retirement and has made it clear that he is continuing as a professional in the sport.