The nicotine patch. Acupuncture. Hypnosis. Cold turkey. Fad diets. Real diets.
 Exercise. Dares, bets and New Year's resolutions.

To the list of methods for quitting smoking and losing weight, a Manhattan man has
 added a new one: Getting in the ring with a professional boxer and getting the crap
 beaten out of you.

OK, so maybe it's not for everyone, but Lee Hunter -- a smoking, drinking,
 out-of-shape, over-stressed Wall Street guy watching his vibrant youth quickly turn
 into creaky middle age -- had tried everything else without success.

So a friend had a brilliant idea: Arrange a three-round bout between Hunter and Iran
 "The Blade" Barkley, the former middleweight, super-middleweight and
 light-heavyweight champ and one of the meanest practitioners of the so-called sweet
 science.

"I knew Iran would be perfect because, let's face it, he's really really scary,"
 said Jules Feiler, who arranged the fight (he's a publicist for a living, so
 inspired ideas are an occupational hazard). "We wanted Lee to get healthy, but you
 can't just tell a guy, 'Get healthy.' You have to give him a reason."

Anyone who remembers Barkley's 1988 knockout of Tommy "Hit Man" Hearns wouldn't get
 anywhere near a ring with this guy, yet for Hunter, this was just what the doctor
 (should have) ordered.

"When I started training, I couldn't even go one round, so I knew I had to get in
 shape," Hunter said. "Otherwise, I'd get my ass kicked for real."

Assisting Hunter in maintaining his inspiration was Barkley himself, who left
 derisive schoolyard taunts on Hunter's voicemail.

"I told him I'd give him great pain," Barkley said. "Maybe that motivated him."

On fight night two weeks ago at Gleason's Gym, Hunter was confident that he was
 ready, even as his mom, as they say in the fight world, was plotzing.

"At least he's wearing a mouth-guard," said Mary Polizzano. "I paid a lot for those
 braces."

In the end, reports of Hunter's imminent demise turned out to be greatly
 exaggerated. It started as a mere workout, but midway through the first round --
 after Barkley landed his first "nice-to-meet-you" jab to Hunter's forehead -- it
 suddenly became a fight. A crowd of 50 had gathered at ringside to watch Lee
 Hunter's weight loss plan turn into "The Battle of Brooklyn."

And the kid wasn't bad, although it was sad watching him try to get punches through
 those two large hams at the end of Iran Barkley's arms. Even so, Hunter landed a
 few combinations and even backed up Barkley with a right cross in round two.

Sure, another jab by Barkley sent Hunter spinning around, but Hunter turned on the
 heat, winning round three outright (on my scorecard, at least).

"He showed courage and endurance and had a good right hand," Barkley said
 afterwards. "I think I'll turn this into a side business: 'Iran Barkley's
 Get-in-Shape Boxing Fantasy Camp.'"

Even the referee was impressed. "The kid showed will and spirit," said Reginald
 Forde, a former boxer who knows about taking the blows. "With boxing, you get back
 what you put in, like if you put three sausages in a pan. You cook them and you eat
 three sausages."

Sausages? I thought we were talking about getting healthy here.

--30--

gersh.kuntzman@verizon.net