European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday May 31, 1992the stars and stripes b Page 25 boxing old boxers Aren t just fading away by Thomas Stinson boxers More than other athletes exist off reputation their lives often defined by a few Sweet moments in the ring. And they know it. When someone once asked How Long he wanted to keep the title Sonny Liston said a a that a like god asking a Man How Long he wants to  so perhaps this goes to explain Why Larry Holmes a 42-year-old two time Grandfather is training in Florida for his june 19 bout with heavyweight Champion evander Holyfield. Or Why George Foreman now 43, wanted another shot at Holyfield and the title. Or Why Muhammad Ali against All advice decided to try it again when he was 37. Or Why Holmes Michael Spinks idl 35, is arranging a comeback. Or Why his brother Leon 38, is already three fights into his second comeback. Money is surely an overriding Factor particularly with escalating  per View paydays. But among pugilist vanity comes first. A father time catches up with some people quicker than others a said Holmes. A i took care of  perhaps but Many in the fight game bemoan the watering of the ranked Talent due to these recycled challengers. Four of the top 10 heavyweight contenders ranked by the International boxing federation Are at least 33 and the Woods Are filled with secondary challengers who can still pass the mandatory physical exams Ana can to give up the game. Knocked out by both Holyfield and razor Ruddock in the last three years 33-year-old Michael Dokes continues to try to fight his Way Back because he says a fall the so called contenders can to spell fight let alone do  Competition aside the prevailing Issue Here is Money which flows through the heavyweight division like never before. Fuelled by competitive contract bidding and Ever expanding  per View revenues boosted by a at 43, George Foreman is hoping for yet another shot at the heavyweight title. Steady Rise in the number of Homes wired for Cable that monetary Carrot on a stick convinced Foreman he could make enough Quick Cash to finance a new gym for his Houston youth Center. That was five years ago. He just completed a two fight $ 10 million contract with Hob. For fighting Joe Frazier in Manila in 1975, Ali split a $5-million purse. Holmes is a Little different. Burned in real estate investments in his Easton pa., Home he tried a Brief 1988 comeback against Mike Tyson to finance a new building he was constructing. Tyson knocked him out in an embarrassing fourth round that sent the cd Champ Back into retirement a at least until 1991, when he checked the Field and Felt he could become Champion again. Although the Money is different now a the Holyfield fight brings him $7.5 million versus  of $23 million a he continues to seek a Way out from alias Shadow that diminished his championship years. A i know Larry a said Angelo Dundee who used to hire a acc Nagid Holmes for alias Deer Lake pa., Camp to spar. A this whole life is predicated on getting Justice. Nobody did right by him. He sees the Holyfield fight As a culmination of  the boxing Industry does no to. When Holmes landed the title shot that Riddick bowels manager Rock Newman had negotiated for three months Newman said a first Holyfield fought the Goodrich Blimp Buster Douglas to win the title. Then he fought the Goodyear Blimp Foreman to defend the title. Now he a fighting an  even Holyfield whose image was tarnished for booking Foreman has squirmed at the Prospect of fighting Holmes. He acknowledged their fight a does no to help the game of  a if a Guy who a 42 gets Hurt then what Are people going to say a Holyfield said. A a they re going to say boxing is a dangerous sport. A Guy at 42 just can to take the punishment a Guy who a 22  but Holmes whose Opportunity is the envy of a grading generation of boxers has nonetheless opened his training Camp in Jacksonville fighting to regain a title he first won 14 years ago. And age he says is no element. A a in a not Here on Hope Hope i can win Hope i have a Chance a he said. A a in a not Here hoping evander Holyfield does something to allow me to win. I know How to fight. In be been fighting for 25  do Tell. Com now sort Coage is latest Lieberman target r not no Nancy Lieberman in 198ia i can play by John Mossman Colorado Springs Colo. Apr the ice pack wrapped around Nancy Lieber Man Cliness chronically ailing right Elbow was her Only Concession to the ravages of time. At 33, Lieberman Cline is the oldest among 56 candidates at the . Women a olympic basketball trials. That a ancient by the standards of women a basketball but Lieberman Cline has spent her entire career raising standards and tearing Down barriers. And she a positively defiant when anyone suggests she might be too old for this kids game. A look magic Johnson is 32. Larry Bird is 35. Robert Parrish is 38,�?� she says. A if you did no to know who i was or How old i was you  know in a 33. Nobody out there is dunking on me nobody is running circles around me. In a better today than i Ever was. In Man athlete. I can  Lieberman Cline sees herself As a trailblazer. A a in a kind of the first one to play into her 30s,�?� she said. A but you wait. Teresa Edwards now 27 will play into her 30s, and Dawn Staley 22 probably will  Lieberman Cline attributes her longevity to rigorous training a love for the game and a switch from Power Forward to Point guard in her Junior year at old Dominion. A a in Mas big As any Point guard out Here a the 5-foot-10, 142-Pounder said. A so the game has t gone by me. In be adapted. All you have to do As a Point guard is be smart and distribute the Ball get it to an open player at the right  after just one workout she can to accurately assess her chances of making the 1992 olympic team a feat she first accomplished in 1976 when Eshe was just out of High school. A i might not make this team but in a Here and a lot of darn Good basketball players Are sitting at Home a she said. A a it a kind of funny to be out Here and have people like Cheryl Miller and Clarissa ask me a you were Here in �?T76? gosh that a  a after the two hour practice thursday night Lieberman Cline applied the ice pack to her Elbow because of Bone chips that have required two operations since 1989 and will require another. A but not now a she says. A this is my last shot at the  Why is she putting herself through the ordeal a i done to have a big ego a she said. A a in a playing for the right reasons. In a playing because i love basketball. A eventually in a not going to want to run and lift weights and ill want to raise a  Lieberman Cline the youngest member of the 1976 olympic team that captured a Silver medal was one of 12 players selected to the 1980 team As Well but she gave up her spot after president Carter announced the Boycott of the games that year in Moscow. In 1984 and 1988 she was ring professionally and thus ineligible. Lieberman talked about the changes in women a basketball since 1976. A a there a so much More depth More Talent better coaching a she said. A a there a More Opportunity for women so More women Are getting involved. There must be 50 american women making Over $100,000 for playing five months in Japan. That a  Lieberman Cliness life always has been Busy. A a in a a Good Juggler a she said. A i own a sports marketing com any in Omaha. In a involved in broadcasting i did More than 40 games this  despite All her experience and her modest expectations about these trials she admitted to getting butterflies. A a in be never been so nervous a she said. A i called my husband Tim from the Denver Airport the other Day and asked if i could come  i