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Foreman, George
- 1968 Olympic gold medal
- 1968 National AAU heavyweight champion
- Two-time heavyweight champion (1973-1974, 1994-1995); International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion (1994-1995)
- Named boxing’s ninth greatest puncher of all time by Ring Magazine
- Knocked out three of four competitors in his pursuit for Olympic gold and had only fought in 18 previous fights in the amateur circuit
- Held the American flag in his hand when he received his gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Summer Games … he was later chastised by members of African-American communities because of his display of pride for his country
- Knocked out 68 competitors in 81 total fights and only lost a total of five fights in his professional career
- Won the heavyweight championship on January 22, 1973 by knocking out world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier
- Fought Muhammad Ali in the Congo and lost his title, which is known as ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’
- Became and minister to a church in Texas in 1977 leaving boxing behind
- Returned to the ring in 1987 to raise money for his Houston youth center
- Went 12 rounds with world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield before losing the decision in 1991
- Retired again in 1999 and plans for a comeback fight in 2004 were stopped by his wife
- Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003, Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990
- Started selling everything from hamburgers to grills to mufflers on TV in 1989 and even did a public-service ad for the Texas Department of Transportation for its "Don't Mess With Texas" campaign
- Had eight of his nine children, including some his daughters, are named George after him
Foreman was always getting in trouble with the law in his teen years and was almost expelled from the Job Corps when he found an outlet in boxing. He won his first title in 1974 and in his first defending fight for that title he knocked out the challenger in 50 seconds, which became the shortest time for a title fight. Big George challenged world heavyweight champion Michael Moorer to a fight in Las Vegas in 1994 after returning to the ring. In the process, he broke two boxing records by becoming the oldest fighter to win the world heavyweight championship at the age of 45 and by the longest time between one world championship run and the next (20 years).
Related Links
Feature: USA Boxing's all-time Olympic champions
“I am a winner each and every time I go into the ring,” said Foreman. (found on brainyquotes.com)
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Height: 6' 3"
Born: 1/10/1949
Hometown: Marshall, Texas
Sport: Boxing
Event: Heavyweight
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