George Foreman, world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist who later became an entrepreneur known for the indoor grills that bore his name, died Friday at 76.
Foreman, known as “Big George,” won an Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when he was 19 years old.
He won the world heavyweight championship five years later in a stunning knockout of Joe Frazier in two rounds in 1973, but he lost it to Muhammad Ali the next year in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
But Foreman was not finished. At 45, Foreman reclaimed the heavyweight title in 1994 when he beat Michael Moorer — a comeback that made him the oldest boxer to win the championship.
Foreman retired from boxing in 1977 and became a born-again Christian. He said in his biography on his website that he had a religious experience in a dressing room after losing in a decision to Jimmy Young on March 17, 1977, in Puerto Rico.
He was ordained as a minister the next year, founded the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1980, and in 1984 founded the nonprofit George Foreman Youth and Community Center in Houston.
Foreman returned to boxing in 1987, a decade after he retired.
He was also known as an entrepreneur for the “George Foreman Grill” — officially called the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine.
More than 100 million were sold worldwide, according to Foreman’s website, and he became a fixture on television programmes promoting the device in an apron.
“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,” the statement announcing his death Friday read.
Humility and purpose were not always character traits for which Foreman was known.
He described himself on his website as going “from thug to boxer.” He was born in Marshall, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1949, but grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, where his website said he bullied other children and “became a mugger and brawler.”
Foreman credited the Job Corps programme, started by President Lyndon B. Johnson, with the mentoring that led him from crime to a career in boxing.
Fellow world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was among those sharing condolences after Foreman’s death Friday.
“Condolences to George Foreman’s family. His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten,” Tyson wrote on X.
William Shatner, who appeared with Foreman on the reality television travel show “Better Late Than Never” in 2016, also expressed his condolences.
Others on social media recognized Foreman for the grill, which was a common sight in home kitchens and college dorm rooms alike in its heyday.
Foreman’s family said they were grateful to be in his extraordinary life.
English (US) ·