George Foreman’s life can almost be divided into chapters: juvenile delinquent, Olympian, heavyweight champ, preacher, and entrepreneur. He was all of those things and much more.
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Born January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, Foreman grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward. He often recalled that as a teen, he was a bully and a thug. But his life took a turn when he went out to California for the Job Corps program and learned how to box. He once said, “I thought I had literally been rescued from the gutter and given a second chance with the Job Corps program.”
With less than three years of experience in the ring, Foreman represented the United States in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games and, to the surprise of many, won gold in the heavyweight division. Foreman said it was “The most happy day of my life. I was a 19-year-old who never had a dream come true.”
What really got him noticed was when Foreman proudly kissed and waved the American flag in victory at a time when African-American athletes famously protested racial unrest at home. Foreman was unfazed. He said, “Things turned around drastically once I got that gold medal. Standing on that platform, representing our country, hearing the national anthem in the background. It changed my life forever.”
A year later, Foreman turned pro. In 1973, at the Sunshine Showdown in Jamaica, Foreman became the undisputed heavyweight champ after clobbering Joe Frazier. In 1974, he lost the crown to Muhammad Ali in the historic “Rumble in the Jungle.”
1977 was a life-changing year for Foreman. After a bitter loss to Jimmy Young, Foreman said in his dressing room, he found God.
He became a born-again Christian and was ordained as a minister. In 1980, he founded the Church of Lord Jesus Christ in Houston and put boxing behind him. In 1984, Foreman opened a nondenominational youth center in his name in Houston for kids who needed guidance just as he once did.
But in 1987, at the age of 38, a noticeably huskier Foreman came out of retirement after 10 years, mostly to raise money to fund the youth center. His new, relaxed style was complemented by his trademark heavy, single blows. Outside the ring, he became a household name as a pitchman for the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, which sold more than 109 million units. He also lent his likeness to Meineke Car Care ads.
In 1994, two decades after losing the heavyweight crown to Ali, Foreman wanted it back. At the time, he said, “I just want to go out there and show the world that 45 and 55 is not a death sentence. We can do anything we wanna do.” At the age of 45, Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer, 19 years his junior, and became the oldest heavyweight champ ever with the longest lifespan between crowns.
A controversial decision in the bout against Shannon Briggs in 1997 ended up being Foreman’s last fight at the age of 48, despite efforts to stage another comeback in 1999 in the Astrodome against ex-champ Larry Holmes. He retired once and for all with an unbelievable 76-5 career record, 68 of those wins by knockout.
Following a 13-year stint as an HBO boxing analyst, Foreman spent much of his time with his family on his 300-acre ranch near Marshall. Foreman married five times. He has seven daughters, and all five of his sons are named George Edward Foreman. His family was featured in a 2008 reality show called “Family Foreman.” He returned to reality TV in 2016 for NBC’s travel series “Better Late Than Never.”
Inducted into the World and International Boxing Hall of Fame and the Olympic Hall of Fame, in the second half of his life, Big George was known less as that feared powerhouse and more as a lovable, smiling, generous family man. He once said, “I’m gonna do this until I can’t anymore. I’m going to work and enjoy being a celebrity until they say we’re tired of George Foreman.”
In 2023, a biopic titled Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World was released, celebrating his extraordinary life.
Foreman passed away at the age of 76, leaving behind a legacy that spanned not just the ring, but also his impact on faith, family, and business.