For $10 Million, He Should Sing as Well

George Foreman may be bigger than Barbra Streisand, and we’re not talking about physical size.

HBO paid more for a Foreman fight against a German by the name of Axel Schulz than it paid to do a Streisand concert.

No one is saying exactly how much HBO paid for the Foreman fight, to be held April 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but it has been reported that it was $10 million. Sources close to the negotiations say that’s close.

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If the Foreman fight is a legitimate heavyweight title fight, as promoter Bob Arum insists, then why isn’t it on pay per view?

“Because HBO was willing to pay so much,” Arum said.

HBO was willing to fork over the big bucks because it needs that boxing identity. HBO’s boxing and other sports involvement set it apart from all the other pay-cable movie channels.

HBO has about 20 million subscribers, and it wants to keep them happy.

Boxing in general, and Foreman in particular, seem to do the trick. When Foreman defeated Michael Moorer last November for the title, HBO got a 30 rating. That means that in 30% of the 20 million homes that get HBO, the fight was being watched.

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Trivia time: Which pay-per-view fight was the biggest money maker?

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The pay-per-view record will be broken if Foreman fights Mike Tyson, due out of prison next month.

Foreman has said that’s the fight he’s pointing toward, on one condition--that promoter Don King not be involved.

“We’re a long, long, long--that’s three longs--way away from a Foreman-Tyson fight,” said Seth Abraham, the president and CEO of Time-Warner sports who oversees HBO sports and its pay-per-view arm, TVKO.

But the prospect has Abraham drooling.

“It wouldn’t be just the biggest boxing match of all time; it would, economically speaking, be the biggest event in the history of sports,” he said.

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Saturday night, HBO offers an attractive doubleheader from the MGM Grand. Oscar De La Hoya fights John John Molina and James Toney faces Montell Griffin.

Foreman, serving in his role as HBO commentator, will join Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant.

On March 11, HBO has another heavyweight title fight, Herbie Hide vs. Riddick Bowe at the MGM Grand.

Coming up April 8 at Caesars Palace will be Oliver McCall vs. Larry Holmes, part of a four-bout King/Showtime promotion. It will be on pay per view even though it probably shouldn’t be.

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Trivia answer: The biggest grossing pay-per-view fight was Foreman-Evander Holyfield on April 19, 1991. The take was $75 million.

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King football: The highly publicized NBA All-Star game on NBC last Sunday got a 10.7 national rating. The NFL’s Pro Bowl the previous Sunday on ABC got an 11.8.

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King Richard: Richard Petty joins CBS announcers Ken Squier and Ned Jarrett in the broadcast tower for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Petty believes he’ll like the view.

“You get a different perspective from watching the race up high than you do from being down on the track,” he said. “When you’re up in the tower, you can see how things develop a lot better. I wish I had been able to watch some of my races from the tower.”

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Ned Jarrett called the final lap of his son Dale’s victory at Daytona in 1993. This year, it could come down to Dale and Richard’s son, Kyle, battling at the finish.

“It would be interesting,” Richard Petty said. “I don’t know who would be more overcome, me or Ned.”

Said Ned Jarrett: “Richard will be working on one side of Ken (Squier) and I’ll be on the other. So if it comes down to Kyle and Dale, Ken will keep us apart.”

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Crime fighter: It was sort of an unnerving experience, but sportscaster Jim Hill said he was glad he helped police catch a murder suspect this week without incident.

Hill said he got a call about two months ago from the mother of Victor Jordan’s girlfriend, soliciting his help. Jordan, 29, was being sought by police in connection with the shooting of Benito Ozaeto, 22. He went into hiding, fearing he would be “lost in the system” if he gave himself up.

Hill and Jordan talked several times on the phone until Hill persuaded Jordan to turn himself in. Hill and gospel singer Andrae Crouch met Jordan Tuesday at a church in Pacoima and took Jordan to a nearby police station.

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Recommended viewing: Viewers will be given an up-close look at Barry Bonds, jockey Julie Krone and basketball’s Bill Russell on the pilot episode of “PROfiles” Sunday at 12:30 on ESPN.

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Ready for another bizarre figure-skating story? ABC reports one Saturday on “Wide World of Sports.”

The network says U.S. dance pair Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow plotted to keep Gorsha Sur and Renee Roca out of last year’s Winter Olympics.

They did that by sabotaging Sur’s bid for U.S. citizenship, according to ABC. Sur defected from the former Soviet Union in 1990.

Speaking of figure skating, “AT&T; Skates of Gold II,” a two-hour, prime-time taped show on NBC Saturday at 8, was produced by Sports Television International, a company owned by Jim Spence. Spence was the No. 2 executive behind Roone Arledge at ABC sports.