Foreman Is Safe, Sarcastic : Boxing: Though IBF heavyweight champion is fighting lightly regarded Axel Schulz tonight, he can’t resist jabs at Tyson.

They call George Foreman the people’s champion, and tonight at the MGM Grand, he faces Germany’s Axel Schulz, hand-picked out of obscurity to be the people’s patsy.

Six pounds heavier than last November, when he shook the boxing world with a 10th-round knockout of champion Michael Moorer, Foreman has done his cheery best to sound worried about the 26-year-old Schulz from Baader Saarow.

“My sole concern is Axel Schulz,” Foreman said, in the middle of an onslaught of questions about a possible matchup with Mike Tyson. “Don’t put me in Michael Moorer’s shoes. He was up there talking about all his future fights (before his loss to Foreman), and George Foreman was just an old guy sitting in his way.”

But even Foreman, who recently was stripped of his World Boxing Assn. title because he refused to fight No. 1 contender Tony Tucker and now holds only the International Boxing Federation belt, is hardly denying that his first title defense since defeating Moorer is about as safe a 10$10-million payday as any 46-year-old, 256-pound champion could find.

Schulz, who weighed in at 221 pounds, and who is earning $350,000, more than $9 million less than the champion, is 21-1-1 with 10 knockouts and has the distinction of going 0-1-1 against somebody named Henry Akinwande.

“I think I can win,” said Schulz, hoping to become the first German heavyweight titlist since Max Schmeling, the 89-year-old great who has counseled him.

“Foreman is thinking about the fight with Tyson. I’m thinking only about this fight. I will have something new that will surprise Foreman. My advantage is my speed, my skill.”

Foreman’s advantage is the kind of pile-driver punching power that Schulz probably can’t avoid.

“I’m not playing around in the ring any more,” Foreman said, citing two recent unimpressive showings.

“Against Alex Stewart, I eased up against him, and before I knew it, he got me cut up. (Against Tommy) Morrison, I let him get away a few times and next thing you know, they’re giving him the decision.”

Foreman couldn’t avoid throwing a few jabs at Tyson, who has so far scrupulously avoided any talk that could lead to a immensely profitable Foreman-Tyson showdown.

According to his countdown plans, Foreman (73-4, 68 KOs) will retire at the end of this year after three more bouts, probably including a rematch with Moorer, and, for now, at least, it appears that Tyson, who bought a lavish house here after ending a three-year jail term for rape last month, won’t be one of the opponents.

“What’s important is what’s happening right now,” Foreman said. “The toughest man in the planet is afraid of a man who’s older than dirt. You can say what you want, but it’s the truth.

“If Mike Tyson really wants to be there, he can be the future of boxing. He’s a tough cookie, but I’m the big piece of cake.”

With more than a touch of sarcasm, Foreman said he could retire peacefully without facing Tyson, whom he lauded as a “fine example” for kids who might wind up in jail.

“Realistically, it would’ve been a fight fan’s dream,” Foreman said. “But it would be wrong for Tyson to fight me now, having been in prison for three years. It would be like taking advantage of him. It wouldn’t be right, now would it?”

So, if a Tyson fight isn’t likely, what does the future hold for Foreman?

Whether or not his tongue was in his cheek, Foreman offered himself as a candidate for commissioner of boxing.

More realistically, he argued that, to free boxing of the alphabet-soup organizations, a tournament should be set up to determine a sole heavyweight champion.

As his last bout, Foreman said he’d fight the winner of the tournament, then retire.

Until then, it’s Axel Schulz, whom Foreman wryly said was not his choice for his first defense.

“Actually, I wanted to fight Pee Wee Herman,” he said.

In an earlier bout, undefeated flyweight prospect Danny Romero (23-0, 21 KOs), from Albuquerque, N.M., will seek to become the first U.S. champion in that weight class when he challenges IBF champion Francisco Tejedor of Colombia.

Tejedor, 42-2 with 30 KOs, but 0-2 fighting outside of Colombia, is making his first defense since winning the title with a sixth-round knockout of Jose Zepeda in February.