Not at all.
Guy in the photo looks beefier than Michael Phelps. Yes, I'm aware everyone is saying he "gained weight" after the Olympics, but I don't know too many guys who gain a lot of weight in their necks that fast.
He didn't need to gain a bunch of weight in his neck. He already had a big neck.
The guy in the photo is darker-complected. If Michael Phelps was pasty-white at the end of the summer, why would he have a tan on November 6 (when this photo was supposedly taken)?
The following picture is from Us Magazine, with their caption:
Michael Phelps attends a press conference as part of the Olympic Handover ceremony on August 24, 2008 in London.
Notice the date, August 24, 2008. He is NOT pasty white and this is right after the olympics. He has a tan in late August.
There you go. Just a few reasons why I'm completely unconvinced. Now, if someone can prove he wears a tacky blingy watch like the one in the photo, I'll think about changing my mind.
Why do you think the watch is blingy? It looks like one of those watches that have chrome ridges going around the dial. Very much like the watch he happens to be wearing in the Us magazine pic above.