Boxing heavyweight legend George Foreman has passed away at the age of 76, his family announced.
Known as Big George, the American boxer built an extraordinary and lasting legacy in the sport, securing an Olympic gold medal in 1968 and capturing the world heavyweight title twice, with a 21-year gap between victories. His second win at age 45 made him the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
Foreman’s first title loss came against Muhammad Ali in the iconic 1974 Rumble in the Jungle fight. Throughout his professional boxing career, he achieved 76 wins, including 68 knockouts—almost twice as many as Ali.
He retired from boxing in 1997, having made a lucrative deal to endorse a bestselling grill, which eventually earned him more than his time in the ring.
On Friday night, his family expressed their sorrow on Instagram, stating, “Our hearts are broken.”
“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose.”
Their tribute continued, “A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply respected – a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name – for his family.”
Foreman was born on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, and was raised in a single-parent home in the segregated South along with his six siblings.
He left school early and initially turned to street crime before boxing offered him a way out.
At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, at just 19, Foreman won the heavyweight gold, then went professional and won his first 37 fights. Over his career, he lost only five times.
He famously defeated the then-undefeated reigning champion Joe Frazier in 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica, knocking him down six times in just two rounds.
His 1974 fight against Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—is one of the most celebrated bouts in boxing history.
Ali, who was considered the underdog after being stripped of his title for refusing military service during the Vietnam War, eventually won.
Reflecting on that bout 50 years later, Foreman told the BBC World Service Newshour that despite expectations of an easy win, that night was the “most comfortable” he had ever felt before a fight.
However, Ali employed the “rope-a-dope” tactic, exhausting Foreman who had thrown hundreds of punches by the eighth round when Ali took him down with a knockout.
After this defeat and another professional setback, Foreman retired in 1977 to become an ordained minister, founding the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Texas.
He described his defeat to Ali as “the best thing that ever happened to me” because it led him to preaching, which he began informally before eventually buying land for his church in Houston.
Coming out of retirement in 1987 to fund a youth center, Foreman won 24 more matches before a defeat to Evander Holyfield in 1991.
In 1994, he knocked out Michael Moorer to claim the heavyweight title again at age 45, becoming the oldest in history to do so.
He also became a successful pitchman for his own invention, the George Foreman Grill, which sold millions since 1994, popularized by the slogan, “Lean Mean Grilling Machine.”
Foreman was married five times and fathered twelve children, including five sons all named George, which he did to ensure “they would always have something in common.”
He once said, “If one of us goes up, then we all go up together. And if one goes down, we all go down together!”
