George Foreman, a heavyweight boxing champion, returned to the sport, regained the championship at the age of 45 and died Friday night at a Houston hospital, his reputation and friendly personality turned into a multi-million-dollar barbecue business. He is 76 years old.
His family announced their death on his Instagram account. George’s brother Roy Foreman said the cause of death is not yet known.
When the foreman returns to the field after 10 years, he suspects that his year fighter can beat any young fighter, let alone return to the top of the race. But in 1994, he defeated the unbeaten Michael Moorer to regain the world of world championships, shocking the boxing world.
The foreman’s career spans generations: he fought Chuck Wepner in the 1960s, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali in the 1970s, Dwight Muhammad Qawi in the 1980s and Evander Holyfield in the 1990s.
His popularity helped him retire and make millions of sales grills to sell.
George Edward Foreman was born on January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas, and was born Nancy Ree (Nelson) foreman and JD Foreman of a railroad construction worker. As an adult, he learned that his biological father was a man named Leroy Moorehead.
The foreman candidly become a bully and a small criminal in his youth. After dropping out of school, he joined the task force at the age of 16. He tried boxing at the age of 17.
In the amateur team, success is fast. Just a year and a half later, he became the Olympic heavyweight champion, beating the Soviet Union’s Ionas Chepulis in 1968 in Mexico City.
After the battle, track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists and waved their fists in the national anthem, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their fists, waving their f
“I’m so happy to be American,” Foreman said later. “Some people try to do something, call me Uncle Tom, but I’m not. I just believe that people should live peacefully.”
On the professional side, he started a lot of battle schedules, boxing as many as twelve times a year. In 1973, he won his first shot in the World Heavyweight Championship against Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, when he was 37-0.
Although he was a 3-1 loser, the foreman dominated the fight, and Frazier knocked out six times before the game was stopped midway. One of the knockouts led to one of the most famous calls from the boxing of TV announcer Howard Cosell: “Down Fraser!
“It’s incredible,” wrote The Times columnist Arthur Daley. “For less than four and a half seconds, George Foreman destroyed Joe Frazier tonight, the ghost who was said to have not lost his chance of victory.
The foreman defended the championship twice, which would be called the rumble in the jungle before playing against Zaire’s Ali in 1974. This time, the foreman is a favorite, but Ali regained the title, causing the foreman to lose his first career.
Ali used his rope strategy, leaning against the rope at the top, allowing the foreman to punch him, but also tired himself. Ali ended the battle with a left-right combination knockout match in the eighth round.
The foreman had five more wins, including another one by Frazier, but after losing to Jimmy Young in 1977, he chose to hang up gloves at the age of 28, citing his religious beliefs and his mother’s wishes.
He held a religious career in his retirement, was a non-sectarian Christian minister in Houston, and passed the establishment of a Youth Center.
But the ring attracted him back. He said in 1987: “I want to be a champion again. I have a three-year plan. I want to start from the bottom. Training harder than any man in the world. Fight once a month.”
He admits that money is also a factor. “Did you know the story is about how to have four pockets in your pants, it’s better to keep things in one so you can live?” he said. “I saved a pocket. I had the money to buy steak and potatoes. But the other three pockets I just blew.”
Sure enough, foreman fights frequently, up to 9 times a year. He won 24 straight games, although most are against lower-ability boxers. This led him to the title in the 1991 championship hitting match against champion Holyfield. The foreman lost his decision but made a trustworthy performance.
Times are described as the foreman “fitting and brave.” But the overall reaction is that his performance is more than just a brave effort. Of course, this seems to be the end of the foreman’s dream.
He scored several victories, losing to Tommy Morrison, but then managed to win another title against 26-year-old Moorer in 1994. Some people call it inappropriate and suggest that the foreman get the chance, just because of his reputation and his novelty. He smiled and said, “It’s not worth it, because I got it.”
The foremen managed to knock down the big punch he was looking for in the 10th round of Las Vegas and beat the Moors, who fell behind the judge’s scorecard. Moorer threw 641 punches to 369 times. But the last one is calculated.
The foreman stood instead of sitting on a stool between the two rounds, as if to disobey his 45 years. He became the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
After the battle, he said, “You can achieve anything you want.” “It’s like this song, ‘Your dream comes true when you want the stars to be reality.’ Well, watch me tonight.”
The foreman defended the German fighter Axel Schulz. But the governing bodies that awarded the championship began to strip him of his belt because he refused to fight the challengers they authorized. Instead, the foreman faced and defeated several smaller fighters. His last battle was loss, a major decision made by Shannon Briggs in 1997. He is 48 years old.
He ended with a professional record of 76-5 and is widely regarded as one of the 10 best heavyweight fighters of all time. The 2017 Ring Magazine survey ranked him seventh. He was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.
The foreman returned to his youth center and commented on the TV boxing broadcast, most profitable, selling the burger grill.
The foreman began recognizing George Foreman’s grill in 1994, with a bright smile, predictable but still charming line like “This is the knockout round.” The grill is electric and portable and can be used as an alternative to outdoor charcoal grills. The foreman helped push the grill to become a medium-stream large kitchen in the United States.
In 1999, Salton Inc. paid $137.5 million in global use rights to use the foreman name on the grill; the foreman spends about 75%. He also endorses mufflers, fried chicken and fries.
The foreman’s affinity helped him go beyond boxing and beyond the media world. In 1993-94, in his comeback, he starred in the brief sitcom “George” on ABC, where he played a retired boxer helping a troubled youth, and over the years he made appearances in several other shows. He appeared in Venus-Fence-Fenz-Encounter costumes in 2022’s “Masked Singer” performance (his “preparation” performance for “Temptation” is not enough to avoid elimination).
In 2005, the foreman collaborated with author Fran Manushkin to write a children’s book called “Let George do it.” About a family full of George, just like himself.
It reads: “‘Today is George’s birthday,’ Mom told the gathering boys.’ Can I count on all of you to help the party?”
“‘You bet,’ said George, George, George, George and George.
In many areas, he said, the key to success in the foreman business is personal appearance.
“That’s bigger than anything, and I don’t care who you are,” he said. “They want to touch you; they want to know you.”
“That,” he said, “they bought you.”
Hank Sanders Contribution report.
