George Foreman, 1949-2025

Legendary boxer George Foreman has passed away at the age of 76, his son George posted on Instagram on Friday evening. 

Foreman was born in Marshall, TX, two hours east of Dallas, and grew up in Houston. In the 1968 Olympics, he won a Gold Medal in the heavyweight division. 

His professional debut took place in June of 1969 at Madison Square Garden, in which he defeated Don Waldhelm by knockout in round 3. Foreman’s first loss came on October 30, 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, in his legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” with Muhammad Ali. 

A fierce, intimidating power puncher who stood 6 foot, 3 inches and weighed somewhere around 220 pounds, Foreman compiled a record of 76-5, with 68 wins coming by way of knockout. He was 2-0 in his career against “Smokin” Joe Frazier, and on April 19, 1991 lost a competitive decision to the undefeated Evander Holyfield in “The Battle of the Ages” for the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships. Foreman, who was at 42 at the time, kept coming forward and was aggressive in his approach against Holyfield, displaying a terrific chin in absorbing the 28-year-old’s punches. 

On November 5, 1994, Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer at the MGM Grand to become the WBA and IBF Heavyweight Champion. He fought four more times, fighting his final bout on November 22, 1997 in Atlantic City against Shannon Briggs. Briggs defeated the 48-year-old Foreman by majority decision. Foreman, with his advanced boxing age and being 260 pounds at the time, was still ranked 8th in the world. 

In 2002, Foreman was ranked by Ring Magazine as the ninth-greatest puncher in history. 

A successful entrepreneur, Foreman is also known for the George Foreman Grill, which was introduced in 1994 and has sold over 100 million worldwide. 

Foreman became a born-again Christian in 1977 and served as a full-time preacher at The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He opened the George Foreman Youth and Community Center in Houston. 

“I was a full-time preacher at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that’s all I wanted to do is be a preacher,” Foreman told Graham Bensinger in 2017. “But I noticed the kids weren’t coming to church.” 

Foreman tells Bensinger that one of the kids that Foreman had been interested in mentoring had shot a store owner after the store owner had shot at a group of kids. The incident helped spawn the center, said Foreman. 

“All these lives had been devastated because I’d tried to show people what a great preacher I had been. So, I started the George Foreman Youth and Community Center, just a place for the kids to hang out…the idea is “I’m here for ya” and that’s why there’s the George Foreman Youth Center.” 

A life well lived that impacted many. 

RIP, “Big” George Foreman.