Heavyweight Boxing Great George Foreman Dead At 76

George Foreman, a former heavyweight champion who lost to Muhammad Ali in the iconic fight “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974 before winning it again 20 years later, passed away on Friday at the age of 76, according to his family.

Foreman, who is infamously known as “Big George,” dropped out of high school when he was a teenager and later became a boxing legend and Olympic champion.

He won 76 of his 81 professional fights, 68 of which were won by knockout.

He became a celebrity outside of boxing and founded the “George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine” (Fred Foreman), appearing in friendly and smiling in the TV ads, and becoming a celebrity.

The family of George Edward Foreman Sr., who passed away peacefully on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones, announced in a statement on Instagram.

We are so appreciative of the outpouring of love and prayers that we kindly ask for privacy in honor of the extraordinary man who we were given the honor of calling our own.

Foreman was hailed as “one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen,” according to legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum.

Foreman was raised in Houston and was born in Texas on January 10, 1949.

The father of his was frequently absent and frequently intoxicated. Only J. Foreman was aware of this. When his real father, a decorated World War II veteran, got in touch with him, he realized that D. Foreman was not his biological father after winning the world heavyweight title.

Foreman flirted with crime as an adolescent, leaving school at age 16;

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His younger brother Roy reported to the BBC in 2024 that George was about 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and the terrorist in the neighborhood at the age of 13. “And you take things when you’re bigger and stronger than everyone else”

Foreman started boxing.

Later, Foreman remarked, “I tried boxing to show my friends that I wasn’t afraid.” I did 25 fights and won an Olympic gold medal a year later.

The 19-year-old Foreman bludgeoned his way to superheavyweight gold at the 1968 Olympics.

Foreman waved an American flag in the ring as he celebrated his 200-meter victory, 10 days after fellow African Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed a black power salute following the 200-meter final.

– Stronger, bigger,

Big George, a 6-foot-4 (1.93m), was larger and stronger than the other leading heavyweights of the time. He struggled to break through the professional ranks, defeating champion Joe Frazier, in two rounds, to claim the heavyweight title.

Foreman had won 40 professional fights before he faced Ali in his third title defense in 15 rounds in Kinshasa in October 1974.

He had won all but three games without working to increase his endurance.

The big man lost in eight rounds because of Ali’s “rope-a-dope” strategies.

Foreman’s intimidating aura was ruined by the defeat, not the least of which in his mind.

He later admitted that he “couldn’t believe I had lost the world title.” The most embarrassing experience of my life was it. It changed from being proud to being sorry. That is devastating.

In March 1977, on a hot night in Puerto Rico, his campaign for another title shot came to an end when he lost to Jimmy Young, another contestant.

After the fight, Foreman claimed that he sensed God telling him to change his life.

He retired at the age of 28 and became a minister of the highest order.

It appeared to be a boxing gimmick when he made his comeback ten years later, flabby and bald, as he had once been, and had flabbed instead of chiselled. He later stated that he needed funds for his youth organization.

Knockout:

He defeated only 20 of his 21 fights over the course of three years, mostly against subpar opponents.

He won the title against Tommy Morrison in 1991 and lost both games, losing both to Tommy Morrison, a well-known player in a weakened and fragmented division.

He faced Michael Moorer, who had taken Holyfield’s place in November 1994. Foreman was trailing badly when he caught Moorer on the chin in the 10th for a knockout in the same shorts he had worn 20 years prior to Ali.

He was the oldest heavyweight world champion at age 45 and 299 days.

He lost on points to Shannon Briggs in 1997, aged 48, and retired again after first losing his WBA title and then his IBF crown for refusing to fight nominated opponents. He then won three more fights and maintained his “lineal” world title.

Foreman, who was the host of the 1996 TV series “Bad Dads,” married four times, gave birth to two children, and raised them all.

He stated that he wanted his five sons to know that “if one of us goes up, then we all go up together, and if one goes down, we all go down together.”

Source: Channels TV