clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVE RAFFO, UPI Sports Writer) (01/17/90)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (UPI) -- George Foreman celebrated his 20th comeback victory with a Tuesday early-morning cheeseburger and dreams of a $10 million payday to fight Mike Tyson. Foreman, the 41-year-old minister and self-confessed ``Geezer,'' had just hours before knocked out Gerry Cooney in two rounds hours. The celebration at Caesars coffee shop, however, was mild. ``I started asking for a double cheeseburger, but I said, `Uh, uh,''' said Foreman, trying to keep his 253 1-4-pound figure. After his snack, Foreman gave an interview outside his hotel room and discussed challenging Tyson for the heavyweight championship. Tyson's style was compared to that of Joe Frazier, whom Foreman destroyed in two rounds Jan. 22, 1973 to win the heavyweight championship. ``Frazier didn't know George Foreman,'' Foreman said. ``No tapes, no nothing. He came right to me. ``This kid (Tyson) knows boxing, he studies boxing. He wouldn't just jump on George. ``I own the middle of the ring and it's not going to take but a moment of the other guy to realize that. ``I don't think a lot of people would be surprised if I beat Tyson.'' Foreman is slower and does not hit nearly as hard as when he ambushed Frazier 17 years ago, but had more than enough for Cooney. Cooney went down for the second time and stayed there at 1:57 of the second round. The crowd of 12,581 at the Convention Center seemed pleased, and promoter Bob Arum said pay-per-view sales were stronger than expected. Arum said Tyson-Foreman would be the biggest grossing fight ever and would pay Foreman at least $10 million. Foreman and Cooney each earned $1 million Monday night. But Foreman's challenge of Tyson must wait. Donald Trump agreed to pay $12.5 million to stage Tyson-Evander Holyfield June 18 at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, down the boardwalk from Caesars. Holyfield's promoter Dan Duva said both boxers have signed contracts. Foreman remains skeptical, and refuses to rule out Tyson fighting him before Holyfield. ``I believe that's a possibility,'' Foreman said. ``Or Holyfield might forget Tyson and say, `I want Foreman.' They'll drop all the imitation sweets and run for the real ice cream.'' Trump Plaza officials Tuesday said they preferred Holyfield to Foreman as a Tyson opponent. ``It's the legitimate heavyweight champion against the legitimate No. 1 challenger,'' said Trump Plaza's Bernie Dillon. ``If we can't sell that, there's something wrong with boxing.'' Tyson and his promoter Don King are in Tokyo, preparing for Tyson's Feb. 11 title defense against Buster Douglas. Foreman may first chase Italian Francesco Damiani's illegitimate World Boxing Organization heavyweight title while waiting for Tyson. ``I'll mop up anything I can get,'' Foreman said of Damiani. ``I'd like to sop him up just like I had biscuits and syrup. ``You have to be active in this game. I'd like to catch one of the guys on the respirator first.'' Foreman said his next fight will be within a month, ``for peanuts,'' which is what he calls $10,000 paydays. Foreman, undaunted by jokes made of him before the fight, said the Cooney bout turned him into household name again. ``When I got in the arena and saw all the people there, I thought, `Whoever invented ``Geezers at Caesars'' really helped me,''' he said. ``I'm going to get me a patch that says `Geezer' and put it on my trunks. I've been looking for a boxing name for years.'' Foreman flew to New York Tuesday to appear on ``Late Night with David Letterman,'' then planned to embark on a prayer tour of the South Carolina area wracked by Hurricane Hugo. This weekend would be spent at his Houston church. ``I'm going to spend all of Saturday and Sunday at church because I've been moonlighting,'' he said. ``I've been shooting hookey.'' Foreman, 65-2 with 61 knockouts over a career that begin in 1969, is 20-0 with 19 knockouts on his 3-year-old comeback. Cooney, the gray-haired 33-year-old who fell to 28-3, won the first round until running into a left uppercut early in the second round that started his downfall. ``One punch turned the whole fight around for me,'' Cooney said. ``Now it's time for me to get on with my life.'' Cooney never won a world title but his losses to Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks and Foreman brought him combined paydays of about $13.5 million.