clarinews@clarinet.com (LISA HARRIS, UPI Sports Writer) (01/15/90)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (UPI) -- With no pulpit available and a boxing ring standing empty the day before his fight, George Foreman the minister skipped church Sunday so George Foreman the boxer could work out. ``I couldn't find a place to speak,'' Foreman said. ``Generally, if I'm not speaking, I rest.'' Instead, with the fight against Gerry Cooney Monday night, Foreman chose a departure from typical heavyweight training by working out the last day. In sharp contrast at the other extreme, Cooney stopped sparring five days before the fight and rested for the 10-round bout both Saturday and Sunday. ``You have a good workout, you eat better, you have a better appetite, get a good night's rest,'' Foreman said. ``The more nervous energy I have,'' the 42-year-old said, ``the more you guys will call me a kid. Besides, I told you guys I would weigh 250 pounds, so I better break a sweat.'' Foreman weighed in Sunday night at 253 1/4 pounds, compared with Cooney's 231, after a light workout mainly at the heavy bag. And of course, in addition to giving that energy an outlet for escape, working out served Foreman's need to attract an audience. ``I think they should have a mandatory age for boxers to retire -- 65,'' he cackled. Cooney's business partner and friend, Tom Mara, said their camp was surprised Foreman wanted to work out Sunday. ``It's very unusual for heavyweights,'' Mara said. ``Gerry's just resting, he ran three miles Thursday, worked the floor Friday and that's it. Gil wants him to relax.'' Mara said trainer Gil Clancy cut short sparring last Wednesday and told Cooney: ``You're perfect.'' ``He said `there's nothing more I can teach you, you're as sharp as you're gonna get,''' Mara said. Clancy had far less kind words on the skills of Foreman, who Clancy used to train. ``His hands have slowed up about 50 percent,'' Clancy said. ``He's always had a good jab but now I'd say it's mediocre. He's strong, he can move you, but he doesn't have the snap to get you out with one punch. If he gets into any kind of punching exchange with Gerry, the odds are greatly improved in favor of George being on his rear end.'' Foreman said he never argues with Clancy but joked he wouldn't want to face someone with even half the power of the old Foreman. ``I hope I didn't lose it and someone else picked it up and, my goodness, I'd have to fight the fella that picked it up.'' he said. ``I'll have my fill when I have to fight Gerry Cooney -- mainly because he'll have the aid of Gil Clancy.'' Cooney, returning to the ring at age 33 after a 2-1/2 year layoff, asked Clancy, now a television analyst, to train him for his comeback fight. If Clancy's teachings are evident Monday night, the left hook that is Cooney's main weapon will be slightly shortened. Clancy said he was looking for better balance to avoid the sequences of the past when Cooney would swing and miss and be open for a counterpunch. ``Every time he throws it (the left), I'm gonna give him a right hand,'' Foreman said. ``I'll stand toe-to-toe with him if he'd like. I've never been one to run, even if I practice it. ``With two great punchers, anything can happen but let me tell you, I'm prepared. Being on the canvas is no news to me, being cut is no news to me, being dizzy is no news to me. What can he do to me that hasn't been done before?'' The variable in this fight, though, is not how Foreman fights. It is how Cooney would react to being hit. He claims he is not the disheartened, pressured, hard-drinking fighter that left the ring in 1987 after a listless loss to Michael Spinks. ``I can do anything I want to do,'' Cooney said. ``I feel really happy, I've worked really hard. I've been breaking my (butt), it's been well worth it. ``I'm not going to stand there and let him hit me.'' Foreman says he doesn't plan to simply pound away. ``I'll hit you in the spot,'' he said. ``I've learned if I hit you under the short rib, I won't have to go there any more. Beforehand, I would just keep hitting and hitting. Once, I land there, you can put your left hook in your pocket.'' Each fighter's purse is $1 million. Caesars personnel anticipated a sell-out and promoter Bob Arum said Sunday 1,500 seats were being added to the original 11,049 but casinos were believed to have played at least as heavy a role as the boxing public in sales. On the undercard, World Boxing Organization middleweight champion Doug DeWitt faces former International Boxing Federation champion Matthew Hilton in a scheduled 12-round bout, and Olympic gold-medalist heavyweight Ray Mercer fights Wesley Watson in an eight-rounder.