In his first attempt at doing so Denver’s Phil Heath snagged his IFBB pro card by swooping to a unanimous decision for the overall title at the 2005 NPC USA Championships. At 25 the former college basketball star has only been training for 2 and a half years and his latest success comes only weeks after he took the overall at the Junior Nationals. Heavyweight Heath’s next public outing is front cover placement on FLEX’s September issue and with his physique and mental approach this is one young man who is sure to make an impact in the pros.
The second pro card went to light heavyweight champion Fakhri Mubarek, who sensationally beat out super-heavyweight champion Marcus Haley by one point. This is one occasion when no one would have argued if three pro cards had been given out.
The quality of competitor throughout was of exceptionally high quality and promoter John Lindsey did a great job – by just keeping out of the way.
Here are the top five in each division of the 2005 USA Championships, with competitors numbers in parenthesis for ID on our extensive gallery.
