The oldest world heavyweight champion ever, who regained his title 20 years on at the age of 45, George Foreman is an undisputed legend of boxing.
It is testament to his longevity and constant self-reinvention that different generations will remember George Foreman for so many different reasons.
Foreman changed from the boxer whose devastating punches dominated opponents but who remained aloof from the public, to the smiling, family-friendly older George advertising his grills on TV.
He announced himself to the world as a 19-year old boxing phenomenon, waving the American flag after winning the ‘Cold War Clash’ against the Soviet Union’s Jonas Cepulis to take the heavyweight gold medal at Mexico 1968.
But just two years earlier it looked likely Foreman would take a very different path until he experienced, not for the only time in his life, a moment of clarity.
As he recalled: ‘Only less than two years prior to that date that I’d stood on that platform receiving gold and listening to the national anthem, I was under a house, hiding from the police.
It is testament to his longevity and constant self-reinvention that different generations will remember George Foreman for so many different reasons
Referee Joe Cortez holds George Foreman’s arm up in victory after Foreman knocked Michael Moorer out in the tenth round of their scheduled 12 round IBF/WBA heavyweight title fight, on November 5, 1994
Former world champion boxer George Foreman poses while launching his ‘Lean, Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine’ in 2001
‘I climbed from underneath that house, in mud and slop, and said to myself, ‘I’m going to do something in my life, I’m not a thief.’
Although born in Marshall, Texas, on January 10 1949, Foreman grew up among gangs in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Houston. His father left home and George and his six siblings were raised by his mother and her partner JD Foreman. She worked long hours and was often absent, and Foreman soon became a juvenile delinquent, dropping out of school aged 15.
Following his epiphany, Foreman removed himself from his impoverished hometown, moving to Oregon and joining President Lyndon Johnson’s brainchild, the Job Corps. The Job Corps, still around today, provided low-income young Americans vocational training as part of a so-called ‘War on Poverty’.
It was working with the Jobs Corps in Grants Pass, Oregon, where he discovered boxing and began a rapid rise to an Olympic gold medal in just two years.
‘When you hear me say ‘Grants Pass, Oregon, it was like the beginning of me,’ explained George.
Without the Job Corps, Foreman said: ‘I would have been dead in three years.’
Foreman’s thankfulness developed into a devout patriotism and appreciation for being an American. In the same Olympics where Tommy Smith and John Carlos gave the black power salute, Foreman proudly paraded the American flag.
Foreman said: ‘It was about identity, an American – that’s who I was.
He wasn’t charming like former champion Ali had been and Foreman later attributed his behavior as an emulation of Sonny Liston’s character. Pictured: Muhammad Ali fights George Foreman in 1974
Foreman changed from the boxer whose devastating punches dominated opponents but who remained aloof from the public, to the smiling, family-friendly older George advertising his grills on TV. Pictured: In 1975
Heavyweight champion George Foreman of the US smiles as he holds belts for the International Boxing Federation in 1994
‘I was waving the flag as much for myself as for the country.
‘I was letting everyone know who I was and at the same time saying that I was proud to be an American.’
He quickly gained a reputation as a powerful puncher in the ring and rose through the ranks with ease before his amateur career culminated in the Mexico gold. In typical Foreman fashion he won the final via second-round stoppage after pummeling Cepulis into submission.
After turning professional a year later Foreman became a prolific boxer, fighting and winning all 32 of his bouts from 1969-71, 29 of them by knockout.
As the number one contender he earned a title shot and in ‘The Sunshine Showdown’ in Jamaica, he fought the also undefeated Joe Frazier.
Frazier was the pre-fight favorite but simply couldn’t live with the younger man’s power. As broadcaster Howard Cosell famously called it: ‘Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!’ and fight was stopped in the second.
But as a champion, Foreman became characterized by the media as unfriendly and unwilling to engage with the public. He wasn’t charming like former champion Ali had been and Foreman later attributed his behavior as an emulation of Sonny Liston’s character. In the 2001 ‘Ali’ biopic, former boxer Charles Shufford depicts Foreman as a mean, uncompromising fighter in contrast to the charismatic Ali played by Will Smith.
Foreman would successfully defend the title twice before surrendering it back to Ali in boxing’s most iconic fight – The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
Although born in Marshall, Texas, on January 10 1949, Foreman grew up among gangs in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Houston. Pictured: In 2019
He helped design the fat-reducing George Foreman Grill and he would go on to make over $200million from it. Pictured: In 2007
Foreman would successfully defend the title twice before surrendering it back to Ali in boxing’s most iconic fight – The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Pictured: In 1976
Ali taunted Foreman as he let his opponent tire himself out, defending on the edges of the ring in what became known as the ‘rope-a-dope’ tactic. Foreman was exhausted from trying to catch the evasive Ali and he was knocked down in the eighth.
Foreman launched the first of many comebacks a year later and he eventually beat Joe Frazier again through a fifth-round knockout.
His 1977 defeat to Jimmy Young sparked a life-changing experience as he lay in the dressing room after the fight. Suffering what he described as a near-death experience, Foreman reached out to God and when he recovered became a born-again Christian.
Foreman felt the need to change his ways during a life in which he fathered ten children from multiple partners and married five times. Comically Foreman named all five of his sons George and one of his daughters Georgetta. His other daughters are Natalia, Leola, Michi and Freeda and he adopted two more – Brandie Lilja and Courtney Isaac in 2012.
The newly-converted Foreman became an ordained minister in his hometown of Houston, began preaching and opened a youth centre.
Foreman surprised many by returning to boxing ten years later, initially to fund his charity.
The media mocked him for being out of shape. He was significantly overweight for his first comeback fight but he gradually slimmed down fight-by-fight
In the ring he was sluggish but somehow managed to retain the same power in his punches. Victories soon flowed and during a remarkable run of 24 straight wins Foreman managed to reclaim the IBF and WBA portion of the heavyweight title at 45.
His father left home and George and his six siblings were raised by his mother and her partner JD Foreman. Pictured: In 1970
Foreman would lose the championship aged 48 to Shannon Briggs but he had proven his comeback was justified and demonstrated that 40 is not a death sentence. Pictured: In 2023
Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion ever by staging a remarkable comeback against Michael Moorer who was 19 years his junior.
The fight was a stunning show of resilience and it shocked the boxing world. On the result Foreman fell crumpled in his corner and prayed to demonstrate the transformation the brutish boxer had undergone.
Foreman would lose the championship aged 48 to Shannon Briggs but he had proven his comeback was justified and demonstrated that 40 is not a death sentence.
It was during this time that a newly-media friendly George got involved with endorsements. Gone was his fearsome, aloof public image and in its place was friendly gentle giant who appeared on TV. He helped design the fat-reducing George Foreman Grill and he would go on to make over $200million from it.
The twice-former champion was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.
He remained active as an occasional boxing analyst and paid an emotional public tribute to Huhammad Ali when his former rival passed.
George is survived by his 12 children and his fifth wife Mary Joan.
