Who exactly is this George Foreman guy?
George Foreman is a well-known name in American boxing, having participated professionally from 1969 to 1997. He is now retired. He holds the titles of world heavyweight champion twice over and won the gold medal at the Olympics. His ring name is “Big George.” In addition to his work in sports, he is a published author, business owner, and ordained minister.
It was in 1974 when Foreman pulled off what is considered to be the biggest upset in boxing history by defeating the legendary Muhammad Ali. Overall, he was victorious in 76 out of 81 professional bouts, suffered defeat in five others, and tied twice. He spent his entire childhood in the Houston area of Texas. Foreman’s father was a water treatment plant worker, and George, who weighed 98 pounds (45 kilograms), was forced to wear hand-me-downs from his six older brothers. When Foreman was ten years old, he decided to stop going to school and instead started working on the streets of Houston at a variety of professions, such as polishing shoes and selling newspapers.
Foreman did not finish high school and instead enrolled in the Job Corps when he was 15 years old. After that, he served for around one year in the military during the Vietnam War, during which he claims to have “killed a lot of people” despite the fact that he did not enjoy the experience. After returning to the United States, he began his career as a boxer in the professional ranks.
In 1974, Foreman engaged in his first bout of note against Muhammad Ali, who was at the time an unbeaten boxing superstar. Overall, he was victorious in 76 out of 81 professional bouts, suffered defeat in five others, and tied twice. He spent his entire childhood in the Houston area of Texas. Foreman’s father was a water treatment plant worker, and George, who weighed 98 pounds (45 kilograms), was forced to wear hand-me-downs from his six older brothers. When Foreman was ten years old, he decided to stop going to school and instead started working on the streets of Houston at a variety of professions, such as polishing shoes and selling newspapers.
Foreman did not finish high school and instead enrolled in the Job Corps when he was 15 years old. After that, in 1968, he competed in the heavyweight division of the Olympics and won the gold medal after defeating Soviet Russian competitors Igor Vysotsky and Aleksandr Karelin, both of whom were competing for the Soviet Union. At the beginning of the 1970s, he was widely regarded as the heavyweight boxer with the most potential anywhere in the world. By 1973, George Foreman had compiled a record of 40 wins (including 34 knockouts) and 0 losses. Every one of his victories had been earned via knockout.
In 1974, the fight for the heavyweight championship of the world took place in Kinshasa, Zaire between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). The event was given the moniker “The Rumble in the Jungle.” Ali knocked out Foreman in the eighth round, and Foreman ended up losing the fight despite being a significant underdog. Boxing historians continue to rank the bout among the sport’s all-time top bouts of all time.
Foreman won a disputed 12-round decision against Jimmy Young in 1976, which allowed him to recover the Heavyweight Championship he had previously lost. Before losing to Ali in a rematch in 1978, he successfully defended his title twice and won both times. Following the defeat, Foreman announced his retirement from boxing and did not compete again for almost ten years.
In 1987, at the age of 38, he staged a comeback and battled his way back to the top, defeating Michael Moorer to regain the Heavyweight Championship of the World. As a result, he became the oldest heavyweight boxer ever to win the title at the time it was awarded to him. He was able to successfully defend his championship three times before Shannon Briggs defeated him in 1997 and took it away. In 1997, Foreman announced his second and final retirement from the sport of boxing.
Foreman competed in a total of 68 bouts throughout his career and was victorious in 64 of those bouts. In 2003, he was recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame and invited to join its ranks.
In addition to his career in boxing, George Foreman is well-known for his efforts in other fields. Since 1977, he has served as an ordained preacher in the Christian faith, and he has authored several publications on the subject of Christianity. He has also made guest appearances in a variety of movies and television series, the most notable of which was as the host of the informational commercials for the George Foreman Grill.
Additionally, the foreman is a successful businessman in the community. He is the inventor of his own line of grills, which have collectively collected sales of over 100 million pieces across the world. In addition to that, he is the proprietor of a line of frozen food products and has endorsement ties with a number of other businesses, such as Kmart and Meineke. His products can be found in both of these stores.
Boxing is practically inseparable from the mention of George Foreman, making him one of the most well-known figures associated with the sport. His career spanned four decades, and he is the only boxer in the annals of the sport to have successfully defended his world heavyweight championship belt on two separate occasions. Outside of the realm of professional boxing, he is well-known for his work as a Christian preacher who has been ordained and as a successful businessman. His boxing career began in the 1970s.