Boxing legend and entrepreneur George Foreman has died, his family announced Friday. No cause of death was provided.
Foreman was a two-time world heavyweight champion in his boxing career and took home a Gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
He later became known for his George Foreman Grill business.
Foreman’s family, in a statement shared to social media, noted that the iconic boxer was “surrounded by loved ones” at the time of his death.
“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,” read the statement, shared alongside a picture of Foreman with his family.
“A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply respected — a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name— for his family.”
The statement continued, “We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers, and kindly ask for privacy as we honor the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own.”
Foreman, a Texas native, experienced a tough childhood, becoming a “mugger and brawler” in the streets of Houston at age 15, he noted on his website.
After entering the Job Corps program, he met Charles “Doc” Broadus — a counselor with the program and a boxing coach — who encouraged him to take up the sport that would later see him defeat Soviet Union amateur heavyweight boxer Jonas Čepulis in the gold medal final at the 1968 Olympic Games.
After the win, he held up a small U.S. flag in a move that he described in his 1995 autobiography “By George” as “much bigger than ordinary patriotism.”
“It was about identity. An American — that’s who I was. I was waving the flag as much for myself as for the country. I was letting everyone know who I was and at the same time saying that I was proud to be an American,” he wrote.
Years later, as a professional boxer, he won a 1972 match known as “The Sunshine Showdown” with then-undefeated and undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier.
The match, which Foreman won due to a second round technical knockout, featured the iconic “Down goes Frazier!” call by sports broadcaster Howard Cosell.
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In 1974, as the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion, Foreman took on Muhammad Ali in “The Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire — one of the most iconic sporting events in history. Ali took down Foreman via a knockout in the eighth round.
After stepping away from boxing in 1977, he became an ordained Christian minister in Texas only to later return to the sport at age 38 in 1987.
By 1994, he’d defeat Michael Moorer with a two-punch combination at age 45 as he became the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
Sportscaster Jim Lampley, who called the match that saw Foreman winning with a 10th round knockout, recalled Foreman telling him prior to the fight that Moorer would stand in front of him and let him knock him out late.
“What came to me was George telling me over and over what was going to happen. And my line was, ‘It happened!’” Lampley told PPV.com of his famous call in 2023.
Foreman told The New York Times after the fight that “anything you can desire, you can make happen.”
“It’s like the song, ‘When you wish upon a star your dreams come true.’ Well, look at me tonight,” he declared.
He retired from the sport in 1997 and was later inducted to both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Outside boxing, he became known for his entrepreneurship, particularly the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine ― an electrical grill widely-seen in informercials that he put his name on because he was “so proud of it.”
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The grill saw widespread success as he told the AARP Bulletin in 2014 that there were times when he made $8 million a month off the product.
“When I came back to boxing, I had to sell a middle-aged man who could become heavyweight champion of the world,” Foreman told Forbes in 2019.
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“Nobody was buying it. But I kept selling it.”
Foreman is survived by his wife, Mary Joan Martelly, and his 11 children. His daughter Freeda Foreman, who also took on a boxing career, died in 2019.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
