George Foreman

George Edward Foreman was born on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, to Leroy Moorehead and Nancy Ree Nelson. He grew up in the Fifth Ward community of Houston with six siblings and was raised by J.D. Foreman, whom his mother married when George was a small child.

In his autobiography he described himself as a troubled youth. He dropped out of school at 15 and spent time as a mugger. At 16 he saw a television advertisement for the Job Corps and convinced his mother to sign him up. Through the program he earned his GED and trained as a carpenter and bricklayer. He idolised the football star Jim Brown but, after moving to Pleasanton, California, with the help of a Job Corps supervisor, he turned to boxing.

Foreman left school at 15 and later earned his GED through the Job Corps, where he also trained in carpentry and bricklaying.

He won his first amateur fight on January 26, 1967, by first-round knockout. He went on to win Golden Gloves titles in San Francisco and Las Vegas and, in March 1968, the National Boxing Championships heavyweight title in Toledo, Ohio. That summer he sparred with former world champion Sonny Liston, whom he later called the scariest man he ever faced in the ring. Trained for the Games by Robert (Pappy) Gault, he won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, beating Lucjan Trela, Ion Alexe, Giorgio Bambini and, in the final, Jonas Čepulis of the Soviet Union. His amateur record was 22 wins and 4 losses.

Foreman turned professional in 1969 with a knockout of Donald Walheim in New York and won 37 straight fights. On January 22, 1973, in Kingston, Jamaica, he stopped the unbeaten Joe Frazier in the second round, knocking him down six times, to become undisputed heavyweight champion. He defended the title against José Roman in Tokyo and Ken Norton in Caracas, both inside two rounds.

On October 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire, he lost the title to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle", when Ali's rope-a-dope tactics wore him down before an eighth-round knockout. He came back in 1976 with a famous slugfest win over Ron Lyle, named Fight of the Year by The Ring, and stopped Frazier again. After losing a decision to Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico in March 1977, he stepped away from the sport.

In 1987, at 38, he returned. He beat Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Gerry Cooney and others, lost a points decision to Evander Holyfield in a celebrated 1991 title fight, and lost to Tommy Morrison for the vacant WBO title in 1993. On November 5, 1994, in Las Vegas, he knocked out Michael Moorer in the tenth round to win the WBA, IBF and lineal titles at 45, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in history. He gave up the WBA belt rather than fight Tony Tucker, beat Axel Schulz by a disputed decision in 1995, and was then stripped of the IBF title when he declined an immediate rematch. His last fight was a majority decision loss to Shannon Briggs in 1997. He retired with 76 wins (68 by knockout) and 5 losses.

After the Jimmy Young fight in March 1977, Foreman collapsed in his dressing room suffering from exhaustion and heat stroke and described a near-death experience. He said he became a born-again Christian that night and "never have been the same again".

He began preaching on street corners and in 1980 became pastor of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, a Holiness Pentecostal church on Lone Oak Road in Houston, where he led services several times a week. Under his leadership the church opened the George Foreman Youth and Community Center. He spoke about his faith on Christian broadcasts such as The 700 Club and Trinity Broadcasting Network and wrote the spiritual memoir God in My Corner (2007).

During his comeback, Foreman's cheerful public persona made him a natural salesman. Salton, Inc. approached him to front a fat-reducing countertop grill, and the George Foreman Grill became one of the best-selling kitchen appliances ever, with more than 100 million units sold. At its peak he was reportedly earning millions of dollars a month from his share of profits, and in 1999 Salton paid him $138 million for the right to use his name. His earnings from the grill far exceeded what he made in the ring. He also wrote or co-wrote several grilling cookbooks.

Foreman was married five times: to Adrienne Calhoun (1971 to 1974), Cynthia Lewis (1977 to 1979), Sharon Goodson (1981 to 1982), Andrea Skeete (1982 to 1985) and Mary Joan Martelly, from 1985 until his death.

He had 12 children, five sons and seven daughters. All five sons are named George Edward Foreman: George Jr., George III ("Monk"), George IV ("Big Wheel"), George V ("Red") and George VI ("Little Joey"). His daughters are Natalie, Leola, Freeda, Michi, Georgetta, Isabella and Courtney; he adopted Isabella in 2009 and Courtney in 2012. Freeda, who boxed professionally, died in 2019 at age 42.

Faith was the centre of Foreman's later life. He said the most important thing was to keep your eye on the true prize, which for him was serving God, and described himself as always studying the Bible. He presented his 1987 comeback as proof that age is not a barrier to achieving goals, and repeated the point in 2004 when he briefly talked of fighting again at 55. In later years he said he had never trash-talked opponents and spoke warmly of the fighters of his era, including Ali, with whom he became friends.

Foreman is remembered as one of the hardest punchers and greatest heavyweights in history. The International Boxing Research Organization ranks him eighth among heavyweights, and The Ring named him one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years and the ninth-greatest puncher of all time. He remains the oldest world heavyweight champion and holds the record for the longest interval between world title reigns, more than 20 years. Beyond boxing, his reinvention from a menacing young champion into a smiling preacher and pitchman made him one of the most beloved figures in American sport.

Olympic heavyweight gold medal, Mexico City 1968. Undisputed world heavyweight champion (1973 to 1974). WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight champion (1994). Associated Press Athlete of the Year honors after the 1994 Moorer fight. The Ring Fight of the Year for Foreman vs. Lyle (1976). Member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Named in The Ring's 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years (2002). American Legion James V. Day "Good Guy" Award (2013).

Foreman worked for 12 years as a ringside analyst for HBO until 2004. In 1993 he starred in the ABC sitcom George, co-produced by Tony Danza. He wrote By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman (2000), George Foreman's Guide to Life (2003), the children's book Let George Do It! (2005) and God in My Corner (2007), plus several cookbooks. In 2022 he competed on season eight of The Masked Singer as "Venus Fly Trap". He was an executive producer of the 2023 film Big George Foreman, based on his sporting and spiritual life.

During his first reign Foreman was often portrayed by the press as aloof and intimidating, a manner he later said he copied from Sonny Liston. His 1974 title defense against Ken Norton in Venezuela became known as the "Caracas Caper" after a tax dispute with the government. He later claimed the ring ropes had been loosened for Ali in Kinshasa and that he had been drugged before the fight, claims Ali's camp disputed. His 1995 decision win over Axel Schulz was widely questioned, and he was stripped of both the WBA and IBF titles for declining mandatory defenses.

Foreman died in a hospital in Houston on March 21, 2025, at the age of 76. His family announced the news on his Instagram account: "Our hearts are broken. With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr., who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones." No cause of death was made public. Tributes came from across sport, including Mike Tyson, who said his contribution to boxing and beyond would never be forgotten. A memorial service was held on April 14, 2025, at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston. In 2026 it was announced that he had been privately buried at Logan Park Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa.