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George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949 in
Marshall, Texas) is a former boxing|boxer who was
twice Heavyweight Champion of the world, a
successful businessman, and an ordained Christian
minister. His nickname is Big George.

==Background==
Foreman, son of JB and Nancy Foreman, was born in
Marshall, Texas and raised in Houston, Texas's
Fifth Ward. During his youth, he was often in
trouble with the law. He joined the Job Corps and
there discovered he had talent for boxing. 

Foreman had a stellar amateur boxing career,
culminating in winning the heavyweight class gold
medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. When
he held an United States|American flag in his hand
as he stood on the victor's stand, a few members
of the black community chastised him for being an
Uncle Tom. 

==Boxing career==
Foreman turned professional in 1969 with a three
round knockout of Donald Walheim in New York. He
had a total of 13 fights that year, winning all,
11 by knockout. Among the fighters he defeated
were Chuck Wepner, by knockout in three, and
Cookie Wallace, who lasted only two.

In 1970, Foreman continued rolling on, winning all
12 bouts, 11 by knockout. Among the opponents he
beat were Gregorio Peralta, who lasted the ten
round distance with Foreman at the Madison Square
Garden, George Chuvalo, beaten in three, Charlie
Polite, who lasted four, and Boone Kirkman,
knocked out in three.

In 1971, Foreman won seven more fights, including
a rematch with Peralta, whom he defeated by
knockout in the tenth and last round in Oakland,
California and a win over Leroy Caldwell, who went
in the second. After  amassing a record of 32-0,
Foreman was ranked as the number one challenger by
the World Boxing Association|WBA and World Boxing
Council|WBC.

In 1972, his string of wins continued, winning
five bouts in a row, all within three rounds. 

With that, Foreman was set to challenge for the
world's Heavyweight championship, and so, in
January 22, 1973, Foreman faced world Heavyweight
champion Joe Frazier in Kingston,
Jamaica|Kingston, Jamaica, knocking him out in the
second round to become the world's champion. In
what was HBO Boxing's first transmission ever, the
call made by Howard Cosell, the broadcaster that
night (Down goes Frazier!!, Down goes Frazier!!,
Down goes Frazier!) became one of the most
memorable sports calls of all time.

Foreman was sometimes characterized by the media
as an aloof and anti-social champion. According to
them, he always seemed to wear a sneer in his face
during this time, and was at times not available
to the press.

Nevertheless, Foreman went on to defend his title
successfully twice during this reign, his first
defense, in Tokyo against Puerto Rican Heavyweight
champion Jose King Roman|Jose Roman lasted only 50
seconds, the fastest ever for a world Heavyweight
championship bout. In his next defense, in 1974 in
Caracas, Venezuela, he beat Ken Norton, who had
just beaten Muhammad Ali, in two rounds.

His next defense, however, spelled doom: During
the late summer of '74, he moved to Democratic
Republic of the Congo|Congo (then Zaire), where he
would defend against Ali, in what became known as
The Rumble in the Jungle. During training there,
he suffered a cut, having to suspend the fight for
one more month. Ali dedicated this month to endear
himself to the public of Zaire, and taunt Foreman
at every possible stop, making Foreman very angry
and frustrated. When they finally squared off,
Foreman suffered his first defeat, being knocked
out in the eighth round. 

He spent 1975 inactive, but in 1976, he returned
to boxing, in Las Vegas. He boxed Ron Lyle, in a
fight hailed by Ring Magazine as The Fight Of The
Year. In a brutal fourth round, Lyle knocked down
Foreman, only to have Foreman get up from the
canvas to knock down Lyle moments later.  In the
closing seconds of the round, Lyle knocked Foreman
down again, with Foreman making it up before the
ten count.  With both men in a weakened state, but
with one having to muster up the fortitude to put
the other away, Foreman knocked out Lyle in the
fifth round. Then, he knocked out Frazier in a
rematch in five, Scott Ledoux in three, and Dino
Dennis in four to finish the year.

==Retirement==
1977 would prove to be a life changing year for
Foreman. After knocking out Pedro Agosto in four
rounds at Pensacola, Florida, Foreman flew to
Puerto Rico, where he lost a 12-round decision to
Jimmy Young (boxer)|Jimmy Young. Foreman became
very ill in his dressing room after the fight. He
was suffering from exhaustion and heatstroke and
believed he had had a near death experience. He
claimed he found himself in a hellish, frightning
place of nothingness and despair. He began to
plead with God to help him. He sensed God was
asking him to change his life and ways.  After
that experience, Foreman became a born-again
Christian, dedicating his life for the next decade
to Christianity. Foreman retired from boxing, and
became an ordained minister of a church in Texas.
He devoted himself to his family and his
parishioners. He also opened a youth center which
bears his name.

==Comeback==
In 1987, he surprised the boxing world by
announcing a comeback. For his first fight back,
he went to Sacramento, California, where he beat
Steve Zouski by a knockout in four rounds. Foreman
claimed he returned to the ring to prove that even
after the age of 40 people could still achieve
their goals. He won four more bouts in '87, and in
1988, he won nine, including a seven round
knockout against former world Light Heavyweight
and Cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

By that time, Foreman had become a successful
business entrepreneur, selling everything from
hamburgers to George_Foreman_Grill|grills to
mufflers on TV (a drastic change from the prior
Foreman, known for being unfriendly). He and Ali
had become very good friends, and he followed in
his former rival and friend's footsteps by making
himself a celebrity outside the boundaries of
boxing. 

In 1989, Foreman continued his winning ways,
winning five fights, including a 5-round knockout
of former world Light Heavyweight champion JB
Williamson, and a 3-round win over future
Heavyweight title challenger Bert Cooper.

In 1990, Foreman became once again a ranked
contender, and he beat former title challenger
Gerry Cooney by a knockout in two. He won four
more fights that year.

He started 1991 by realizing one of his dreams and
challenging world heavyweight champion Evander
Holyfield for the world title in a Pay Per View
boxing event. Foreman went twelve rounds with
Holyfield before losing the decision. Round 7 was
Ring Magazine's Round Of The Year. Once the fight
was finished Foreman made the reporters feel half
of his dream had been completed by saying that he
showed the world people can go the full 12 rounds
after reaching their forties.

Foreman boxed only twice more before receiving his
next world title shot, for the vacant WBO
championship against Tommy Morrison. Morrison beat
Foreman in twelve rounds by decision, but Foreman
refused to give up on his dream. 

In 1994, Foreman once again went for the world
championship, after Michael Moorer had beaten
Holyfield for the International Boxing
Federation|IBF and WBA titles. Foreman was
trailing badly on all scorecards when he knocked
out Moorer in the 10th round on November 5 in Las
Vegas, Nevada. With this, Foreman broke two
records: He became, at the age of 45, the oldest
fighter ever to win the world Heavyweight crown,
and, 20 years after losing his world title for the
first time, he broke the record for the fighter
with the most time in between one world
championship run and the next.

In 1995, Foreman beat Axel Schultz of Germany to
retain his title, by a 12-round decision. But this
fight became the catalyst of a big controversy:
The IBF ordered an immediate rematch, to be held
in Germany. But Foreman refused to travel to
Germany to defend his titles, and gave both the
WBA and IBF belts away. 

In 1996, Foreman returned to Tokyo, where he beat
Crawford Grimsley by a 12-round decision, and in
1997, he also beat Lou Savarese by decision. After
the WBC decided to give the winner of his fight
with Shannon Briggs a title shot against world
champion Lennox Lewis, Foreman and Briggs fought,
Briggs winning a 12-round split decision. After
this bout, Foreman announced his retirement.

==Second retirement==
Foreman planned to box a return bout against Larry
Holmes in 1999, but after the cancellation of the
bout, he said he had no plans to resume his career
as a boxer. However, he announced in February 2004
he was training for one comeback fight, but his
plans were stopped by his wife.

He has a record of 76 wins, 5 losses and 68 wins
by knockout. He is now an avid autograph signer.
Apart from his ads for Meineke mufflers, Foreman
also tours the world promoting his George Foreman
Grill|George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine.
Ironically, Foreman has made more money from his
grilling machine contracts than he made during his
entire boxing career.  He has 10 children (5
daughters and 5 sons) with his wife, Joan; all 5
sons are named George. His daughter, Freeda
Foreman, is a former competitor in the sport of
Women's boxing.

In January of 2003, Foreman was elected to the
International Boxing Hall Of Fame, where he was
inducted in June. That same year, he was named
boxing's ninth greatest puncher of all time by
Ring Magazine (see Ring Magazine's list of 100
greatest punchers of all time).

==Trivia==
* During his 1991 match against Holyfield, Foreman
remained standing in his corner between all 12
rounds.
* All of his Lean Mean Fat Reducing products bear
his signature and the tag line "Knock Out the Fat"
(a reference to his boxing career).
start box
succession box |
  before= Joe Frazier |
  title= List of heavyweight boxing
champions|Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA, WBC) |
  years= 1973–1974 |
  after= Muhammad Ali

succession box one to two |
  before= Michael Moorer |
  title1= List of heavyweight boxing
champions|Heavyweight boxing champion (IBF) |
  years1= 1994–1995 |
  after1= Francois Botha |
  title2= List of heavyweight boxing
champions|Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA) |
  years2= 1994–1995 |
  after2= Bruce Seldon

end box