Boxing Notes : Another Fight May Be Brewing for Foreman

By WALLACE MATTHEWS

Oct. 1, 1989 12 AM PT

Newsday

There will be two very interested spectators -- apart from the usual riffraff -- at Thursday morning’s news conference to offically announce the Jan. 15 bout between George Foreman and Gerry Cooney at the Atlantic City Convention Hall.

Their names are Bilal and Bahar Muhammad -- no relation -- and they are interested to the tune of $150,000. That is the approximate amount they have paid, through their promotional company, Fightcorps Ltd., to Foreman as an advance on a two-fight deal that was supposed to begin with a Foreman-Hugo Maceroni (Who? More later) bout in September and culminate in a Foreman-Francesco Damiani fight for Damiani’s World Boxing Organization heavyweight title in November.

Foreman, you might recall, is the former heavyweight champion turned preacher who returned to the ring, at age 40, in 1987 to raise money for a youth foundation he was starting in Houston. In the course of his comeback -- 19 fights, 18 knockouts -- Foreman has earned an estimated $850,000. And that does not include the money he has pocketed in “advances” from would-be promoters who want to sign him to multi-fight deals, hoping to sneak into the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow -- Foreman-Mike Tyson.

Most of Foreman’s scores have been small, along the lines of the $10,000 he accepted from Florida promoter Ernie Letiziano for a deal that fell through. The Muhammad & Muhammad deal, if it comes down the way it appears to be heading, will be the biggest contribution yet in Rev. George’s collection plate.

“Don’t make a big deal out of this thing,” a Foreman associate said. “There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just a good business tactic.”

Whatever. Muhammad & Muhammad say they have a signed contract for Foreman to fight Maceroni, an Argentine heavyweight of no repute and unverifiable record, on Oct. 27 in the Bahamas. Bob Arum, the promoter of Cooney-Foreman, says no way. According to Arum, the fighters’ contracts specifically prohibit Cooney and Foreman from fighting before they fight each other in January. So what happens to the Foreman M&M; deal?

“Foreman has assured them he will honor their contract after he fights Cooney,” Arum said. And should Cooney win? “Then George says he will return their money. He’s a nice guy.”

Granted, but he’s also a tough businessman. Bilal Muhammad concurred with Arum’s scenario. “We don’t have any problem with George,” Bilal said. “We know he’s a man of his word. We’re not worried about the money. If he wants to fight Cooney first, fine. We’re willing to do whatever George tells us to do.”

Bahar Muhammad, however, took a tougher stance. “We’re going to go in October, period,” he said. “Wait until after he fights Cooney? Does that sound logical to you? What if he loses? Yeah, George will give the money back. Sure.”

So what is their recourse if Rev. George decides -- as he certainly will -- to fight Cooney without taking on Maceroni and-or Damiani first? A lawsuit, right? Neither Muhammad would go that far, but Bahar said, “We’re going to do the logical thing. After all, we’re businessmen.”

So is Rev. George.

Who is Hugo Maceroni, anyway? Well, it just so happens that Maceroni trains in Arum’s new Las Vegas gym. Here’s the self-styled “Borscht Belt Promoter’s” eyewitness report: “He’s terrible. He’s a little guy, about 5-10. He’s so bad, he won’t even spar with anyone. He just futzes around in the gym.”

There are comeback rumblings all over the boxing landscape these days. Cooney-Foreman, while it may be a joke and a farce and any other term you can come up with to mean objectionable, figures to stir up a lot more interest than just about any Tyson title defense with the exception of a fight with Evander Holyfield.

And one of the fighters who might opt to cash in on that interest is Larry Holmes, who was knocked out in four rounds by Tyson in January 1988 and turns 40 on Nov. 3.

Talk has been going around that Holmes would sign to fight 37-year-old Larry Alexander in Jacksonville, Fla., for something like $50,000. Where, you may ask, would such a bout lead Grandpa Larry? You guessed it -- to the winner of Cooney-Foreman.

“Even though I’ll be 40, I still feel I’m the best out there if I have enough time to prepare myself,” Holmes said. “People call me every day with offers. It’s not the money. I’d only fight if it led to something big, like the winner of Cooney-Foreman or Evander Holyfield or another fight with Spinks.”

According to Holmes, he did sign a letter of intent two months ago with Harold Smith to fight a rematch with Spinks for $3 million. But, Holmes said he hadn’t heard from Wells Fargo’s favorite embezzler since. Butch Lewis, Spinks’ promoter, denied any such offer was presented to him or that Spinks was considering a comeback. “I didn’t even deal with Harold when he was carrying millions around in suitcases,” Lewis said. “Why should I deal with him now?”

Still, rumor has it that Spinks will return to boxing after having surgery on his knees, which troubled him throughout his career. In the meantime, Holmes was offered a Nov. 10 fight with Alexander by promoter Phil Myers, a longtime friend. Holmes wouldn’t confirm or deny he was considering the offer, but he did agree that the urge to fight again was strong. “I’d even fight Tyson again,” he said. “Last time I only had three months to train and no tuneups. I’d do it right this time. Mike Tyson didn’t get the best of Larry Holmes that night.”

Last week, Sugar Ray Leonard, who lately changes trainers as often as some people change socks, had this to say about firing longtime trainer Dave Jacobs: “It was painful to sever the ties with Jake. He was like family.”

To this, Unswerving Irving Rudd, who turns 72 on Oct. 13, replied: “What would he do if he didn’t like the guy? Make him walk the plank?”