clarinews@clarinet.com (LISA HARRIS, UPI Sports Writer) (01/15/90)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (UPI) -- Ron Lyle, the loser in one of George Foreman's most memorable fights, never expected to be commenting on Foreman's chances 14 years later. Lyle isn't one to be surprised by life's turns. While serving time for murder, he began boxing and went on to be part of 1976's fight of the year -- the fourth-round loss to Foreman. After he retired and worked as a security guard, Lyle was again charged with murder and got off for self-defense -- a heavyweight boxer with a gun defending himself against an unarmed man. He now trains fighters. But this twist makes Lyle laugh. He turns 48 next month and here he was brought to Atlantic City by promoter Bob Arum to talk about Foreman's chances Monday night against Lyle's 1980 opponent, Gerry Cooney. ``Yeah, you would think time moves on,'' Lyle said. ``It will depend on punching power and who runs out of gas.'' Just as punching power made Lyle-Foreman a classic matchup. Foreman and Lyle slugged it out toe-to-toe. Lyle put down Foreman twice and had him out on his feet once. ``It looked like Foreman was dead,'' Arum recalls. Giving the former heavyweight champion of the world a real scare contrasts sharply with Lyle-Cooney four years later. ``With me and Foreman,'' Lyle said, ``it was the fight of the decade. Cooney, it was a first-round knockout, I was 38, fighting for the paycheck.'' Foreman turned 42 last week, Cooney is 33 and they will receive $1 million each. ``I think it's good,'' Lyle said. ``People say he's knocked out 18 `bodies' but what can you say bad about the guy? He's out there knocking out fighters in a ring and that's his trade.'' Lyle refers to Foreman's punching power in the present tense. He makes jokes about ``the Lord being on George's side'' now that Foreman is a preacher, but insists he is not picking a winner. ``They both can punch,'' Lyle said. ``I think Cooney is gonna try to keep him off balance, gonna try to move but not a lot of moving because he doesn't have a history of moving, but (trainer) Gil Clancy is in his corner now. ``I think Foreman's gonna try to keep him in the center of the ring or corner him. Cooney's gonna try to use all the ring and Foreman's gonna try to give him a quarter of the ring. ``If they slug it out, what chance does Cooney have?'' That's been the big question at the fight: even if Cooney has lost little of his devastating left hand, how will he react to getting hit? As it is for so many others in boxing circles, Lyle's lasting impression of Cooney is from his last fight, a dispirited loss to Michael Spinks 2 1/2 years ago. ``Spinks stayed right on top of him so I'm thinking that's the same thing Foreman's thinking,'' Lyle said. ``Cooney's younger, he's in the prime of his life as an athlete but that doesn't mean anything. ``It would if they were lighter weights but throughout history, heavyweights... Jack Johnson fought through his 50s, Archie Moore (now Foreman's trainer) was in his 50s, Jersey Joe Walcott, who I admire very much, he didn't win the title till he was 30, look when (Muhammad) Ali won his third (title, at 36).'' Lyle, with no such titles, will stay put at 40-7-1 (27 knockouts) with much reason to believe the showmanship of one particular loss will not be topped Monday night.