George Foreman’s life can almost be divided into chapters: juvenile delinquent, Olympian, heavyweight champ, preacher, and entrepreneur. He was all of those things and much more.
Born January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, Foreman grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward. He often recalled that as a teen, he was a bully and a thug. But his life took a turn when he went out to California for the Job Corps program and learned how to box. He once said, “I thought I had literally been rescued from the gutter and given a second chance with the Job Corps program.”
With less than three years of experience in the ring, Foreman represented the United States in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games and, to the surprise of many, won gold in the heavyweight division. Foreman said it was “The most happy day of my life. I was a 19-year-old who never had a dream come true.”
(Original Caption) 10/26/1968-Mexico City, Mexico- George Foreman of Houston, TX, waves a small American flag after he won the Olympics heavyweight boxing gold medal to climax America’s greatest effort at an Olympics. The US walked away with 45 gold medals, 27 silvers and 34 bronze. Foreman scored a second-round technical knockout over Ionas Chepulis of the Soviet Union. (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
What really got him noticed was when Foreman proudly kissed and waved the American flag in victory at a time when African-American athletes famously protested racial unrest at home. Foreman was unfazed. He said, “Things turned around drastically once I got that gold medal. Standing on that platform, representing our country, hearing the national anthem in the background. It changed my life forever.”
A year later, Foreman turned pro. In 1973, at the Sunshine Showdown in Jamaica, Foreman became the undisputed heavyweight champ after clobbering Joe Frazier. In 1974, he lost the crown to Muhammad Ali in the historic “Rumble in the Jungle.”
1977 was a life-changing year for Foreman. After a bitter loss to Jimmy Young, Foreman said in his dressing room, he found God.
American heavyweight boxer George Foreman preaching to his congregation at The Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ on Lone Oak Road in Houston, Texas, February 1995. Foreman became a born-again Christian and ordained minister in 1977. (Photo by Michael Brennan/Getty Images) (2012 Michael Brennan)
He became a born-again Christian and was ordained as a minister. In 1980, he founded the Church of Lord Jesus Christ in Houston and put boxing behind him. In 1984, Foreman opened a nondenominational youth center in his name in Houston for kids who needed guidance just as he once did.
But in 1987, at the age of 38, a noticeably huskier Foreman came out of retirement after 10 years, mostly to raise money to fund the youth center. His new, relaxed style was complemented by his trademark heavy, single blows. Outside the ring, he became a household name as a pitchman for the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, which sold more than 109 million units. He also lent his likeness to Meineke Car Care ads.
HAMBURG, GERMANY – OCTOBER 05: Boxen: Privat 2004, Hamburg; George FOREMAN praesentiert bei Saturn seinen Grill; George FOREMAN / ehem. Boxprofi mit seiner ‘ Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine ‘ 05.10.04. (Photo by Cathrin Mueller/Bongarts/Getty Images) (Bongarts)
In 1994, two decades after losing the heavyweight crown to Ali, Foreman wanted it back. At the time, he said, “I just want to go out there and show the world that 45 and 55 is not a death sentence. We can do anything we wanna do.” At the age of 45, Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer, 19 years his junior, and became the oldest heavyweight champ ever with the longest lifespan between crowns.
5 Nov 1994: George Foreman lands a straight right on Michael Moorer during a bout in Las Vegas, Nevada. Foreman won the fight with a knockout in the tenth round. Mandatory Credit: Holly Stein /Allsport (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
A controversial decision in the bout against Shannon Briggs in 1997 ended up being Foreman’s last fight at the age of 48, despite efforts to stage another comeback in 1999 in the Astrodome against ex-champ Larry Holmes. He retired once and for all with an unbelievable 76-5 career record, 68 of those wins by knockout.
Following a 13-year stint as an HBO boxing analyst, Foreman spent much of his time with his family on his 300-acre ranch near Marshall. Foreman married five times. He has seven daughters, and all five of his sons are named George Edward Foreman. His family was featured in a 2008 reality show called “Family Foreman.” He returned to reality TV in 2016 for NBC’s travel series “Better Late Than Never.”
American former world heavyweight boxing champion, George Foreman, feeding cattle on his ranch in the Piney Woods of Marshall, Texas, 1991. (Photo by Nathan Bilow/Allsport/Getty Images) (Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)
Inducted into the World and International Boxing Hall of Fame and the Olympic Hall of Fame, in the second half of his life, Big George was known less as that feared powerhouse and more as a lovable, smiling, generous family man. He once said, “I’m gonna do this until I can’t anymore. I’m going to work and enjoy being a celebrity until they say we’re tired of George Foreman.”
Retired pro-boxer George Foreman arrives for the world premiere of “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World,” at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles, California, on April 26, 2023. Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, who fought an iconic battle with Muhammad Ali before later reclaiming the title two decades later, died March 21 aged 76, his family announced in a statement. “With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr, who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones,” the statement said. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) / ALTERNATE CROP (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP or licensors)
In 2023, a biopic titled Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World was released, celebrating his extraordinary life.
Foreman passed away at the age of 76, leaving behind a legacy that spanned not just the ring, but also his impact on faith, family, and business.
