George Foreman

George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. Competing between 1967 and 1997, he was known as "Big George." A two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, he is also the namesake of the George Foreman Grill. Born in Marshall, Texas, and raised in Houston's Fifth Ward, he was a troubled youth who dropped out of school at 15 and became a mugger. At 16, he joined the Job Corps after seeing a TV ad, earning his GED and training as a carpenter and bricklayer. He initially idolized football star Jim Brown but switched to boxing.

Foreman won Olympic gold in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Mexico City Games, stopping Jonas Čepulis in the second round of the final. He considered this his proudest boxing achievement. Turning professional in 1969, he won the undisputed world heavyweight title in 1973 by knocking out the undefeated Joe Frazier in two rounds. He defended the belt twice before losing to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle." After a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977, he retired, following a born-again experience that led him to become an ordained Christian minister.

Ten years later, he launched a comeback. In 1994, at age 45, he unified the WBA, IBF, and lineal heavyweight titles by knocking out 26-year-old Michael Moorer, earning Associated Press Athlete of the Year honors. He later dropped the WBA belt and, after one successful defense against Axel Schulz, relinquished the IBF title in June 1995. At 46 years and 169 days, he became the oldest world heavyweight champion in history and the second-oldest boxer to win any world title. He also holds the record for the longest interval between world title reigns, over 20 years. He retired in 1997 at 48 with a record of 76 wins (68 knockouts) and 5 losses. Foreman is in both the World and International Boxing Halls of Fame, rated the eighth-greatest heavyweight by the International Boxing Research Organization, and named among the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by *The Ring*. He worked as an HBO boxing analyst for 12 years until 2004. Outside the ring, he became a successful entrepreneur; the George Foreman Grill sold over 100 million units worldwide by 2011, and he sold its commercial rights for $138 million in 1999.