Big George Foreman joins Ali and Frazier in boxing heaven

By Geoffrey Latayan

Former heavyweight champion and grilling magnate George Foreman passed away on Friday, his family announced on social media without elaborating on the cause of death.

The hard-hitting boxer, who fell to the most unorthodox strategy in the world but redeemed himself with his furious fists to become the oldest heavyweight champion ever, has now been knocked out permanently.

“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,” his family wrote.

“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.”

Act 1: From Fifth Ward to Olympic gold and heavyweight glory

Foreman grew up in Houston, where he would have found himself behind bars at an early age if he didn’t try out boxing.

Using his tall and muscular stature, Big George’s path to greatness began with a gold medal in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Fighting in the super-heavyweight category, the Texas powerhouse won the ultimate prize by bullying and bludgeoning his opponents with uncanny punching and slugging skills.

When he turned professional, Foreman rampaged his way to becoming the top contender for then-heavyweight champ Joe Frazier’s belt.

When they fought on 22 January 1973, the 6-foot-4 puncher needed only two rounds to knock out the champion and become the new heavyweight king.

He then managed two successful defences against Ken Norton and Jose Roman to set up a super-showdown with Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa in October 1974.

Ali frustrated Foreman with his infamous ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy and the latter eventually fell to two lightning-quick punches. Moments later, the fight was stopped and Foreman suffered his first loss.

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Act 2: Leaving boxing to take up preaching

Foreman fought six more times before losing to Jimmy Young on 17 March 1977.

He fell ill after the fight with Young and later claimed that God told him to change his life. As a result, Foreman decided to hang up his gloves and take up preaching and working with kids in Houston.

Ten years later, his head clean-shaven and his muscular frame replaced by flabs on his waist, Big George returned to boxing for a cause: his growing youth centre.

He subsequently racked up 24 straight victories in four years, setting up an opportunity to fight champion Evander Holyfield.

Although he lost the fight, Foreman proved that he could still be one of the contenders in the heavyweight class.

In June 1993, Foreman was handed another crack at the WBO title against Rocky V star Tommy Morrison but lost via unanimous decision. Sixteen months after losing to Morrison, he had one final shining moment.

Foreman was given a title shot against Michael Moorer on 5 November 1994 and was losing on the judges cards in the first nine rounds.

Then thunder struck in the 10th as he landed a big punch that caught Moorer off guard, and Foreman followed that up with a lethal right that floored the champion and handed the 45-year-old another world title.

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Act 3: Quitting boxing again to become grinning grill magnate

Foreman quit boxing for good in 1997 and became a boxing analyst for HBO.

Later on, he transitioned into the smiling face of the ‘George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine’.

His magnetic grin influenced more than 100 million buyers to purchase the simple cooking machine, which gave him more fame and fortune than his boxing career had done.

Big George also hosted the 1996 TV programme Bad Dads and married four times, fathering 10 children and adopting two.

His death has greatly saddened the boxing industry, with various sports icons offering their thoughts on Foreman’s untimely passing.

Mike Tyson wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten”.

US President Donald Trump added on his platform Truth Social: “What a GREAT FIGHTER!!! He had, without question, the heaviest and biggest punch in the history of boxing. With the exception of Ali, when you got hit, you went down. He was something really Special, but above all, he was a Great Person, with a personality that was bigger than life. I knew him well, and he will be missed.”

Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum opined that Foreman was “one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen”.

Arum’s contemporary and fellow promoter Don King wrote on Instagram: “George was an inspiration, my brother, a man who was innovative and imaginative. He demonstrated what you could do with yourself even though you might be born poor, under privileged, downtrodden and denied. He proved what you can do when you think ‘yes I can’ when the world tells you ‘no you can’t”.

The last of the three pillars of 1970s heavyweight boxing has now sounded the final bell and is off to meet his contemporaries in boxing heaven.

Farewell Big George.

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