FLEXONLINE INTERVIEW: MELVIN ANTHONY

Written by: Allan Donnelly
Is it time for the Marvelous One to shine in Columbus?

February 26, 2007

FLEXONLINE.COM



He’s placed in the top six in each of the last two Olympias but, somehow, there isn’t much hype surrounding Melvin Anthony heading into the Arnold Classic this weekend. Why? First and foremost, his conditioning is always a question mark. And in a lineup where conditioning should be at a premium at the top of the order (see Dexter Jackson and Phil Heath), Anthony is going to have to be at his best in order to make a run at the top spot. When FLEXONLINE.COM caught up with Anthony this weekend, he told us he is not only bigger – 10 pounds, to be exact come contest-time – but better than he’s ever been.

FLEXONLINE: WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU MADE SINCE LAST YEAR’S OLYMPIA?
MELVIN ANTHONY: I’m coming in with 10 pounds of muscle. My condition will be right on. This is going to be the best Melvin Anthony yet.

FLEX: WHAT DID YOU WEIGH AT THE OLYMPIA?
MA: At the Olympia I was about 235 ½. I’m gauging, I’m guessing here …but at the Ironman I was 255 pounds [NOTE: Anthony stepped onstage in a cameo appearance] at the Ironman Pro]. This morning I weighed 250 pounds. So I’m thinking I can come in at 245 pounds.

FLEX: HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU WITH PHIL HEATH AT THIS CONTEST?
MA: Hype is hype. My focus is on Dexter. He’s the one that’s ahead. I’m not really focusing too much on Phil because other guys are in there also … there’s lot of guys in this show coming in to take the title. Say whatever they want about Phil, he’s going to be one of the top tier guys. But Phil has flaws. Everybody on stage is going to have a flaw. I’m looking to out-muscle Dexter. If I can out-muscle him, I can deal with everybody else.

FLEX: WHO IS A BETTER POSER, YOU OR KAI GREENE?
MA: Again go back to the track record I got under my belt. I like his style. I like King Kamali’s style. Everybody has their own style. I have a blend of everything. There can only be one Marvelous Melvin.

FLEX: ANY PREDICTIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND?
MA: No predictions, that’s not my job to decipher. My job is to get into that first second callout. Some guys will be fighting. There are a lot of battles in this show, it’s up to me to be a strategist. I’ve been around since Chris [Cormier] and Kevin [Levrone] and all those guys. I know how to fight these guys.

FLEX: HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU GOING IN THAT YOU ARE GOING TO WIN THIS SHOW?
MA: As confident as I can be. Going into this show I’m going to take everybody out one by one. When the smoke clears, I’ll be the last one standing. I’ve done a lot of switching around with my diet and all this cardio is really kicking my tail. With the combination of the things that we’ve done to hold on to a lot more muscle – when I stepped onstage at the Ironman, I had no oil, no color and I had just eaten steak and a bunch of rice. Once I add color and drop the water, it’s going to be lights out on somebody

Confidence is not lacking within him. My best hope for him !!

This show is going to be a good fight if Anthony is in shape.

I think Melvin sure has the tools to beat both Dex and Phil but it really comes down to him being the absolute best he can be and bring his A Game. I dont really look for him to win but i wouldnt be surprised at all if he did.

I really hope he comes in conditioned. I love his physique and I think he deserves a win. Not to mention he was a big motivator for me when I first got into bodybuilding. I had a conversation with him at the first bb competition I ever attended as a spectator and he is down to earth and an awesome person.

UPPPERRRCUTTTTTTTT!

Line sums up what he thinks with one "word"