George Foreman, heavyweight boxing icon and enterprise entrepreneur, has died.
He was 76 years previous.
The Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Famer’s household introduced the information on his Instagram web page on Friday night time.
“Our hearts are broken,” the caption learn on the publish. “With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr. who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by loved ones. 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.”
Born in Marshall, Texas in 1949, Foreman, who admittedly was a bully in his youth, joined the Job Corps at 16 years previous earlier than turning to boxing at 17.
He made his first main stamp on the boxing world as a 19-year-old on the 1968 Mexico Metropolis Olympics when he gained the heavyweight gold medal towards Soviet fighter Jonas Cepulis.
AFP by way of Getty Photographs
In 2012, Foreman reminisced concerning the win and the way “afraid” he was on the time of the battle after accumulating fewer than two dozen beginner fights earlier than the Olympics.
“When I look back at the fight, all I can remember was how afraid I was,” he advised the BBC.”Chepulis was representing one other ‘superpower’. I didn’t have the arrogance that folks thought I had.
“I wanted to win gold but didn’t expect anything like that to happen in my life. But I was told to jab, jab, jab. With my jabs and other wild punches, there was no way to stop me. … The left jab was my number one punch – I still think it was the best punch in boxing.”
One 12 months after his gold medal win, the fearsome and intimidating Foreman took up skilled boxing, embarking on a legendary profession that noticed him accumulate a 76-5 document with 68 wins by knockout.
In 1973, he gained his first of two heavyweight champions when he knocked out Joe Frazier — the heavyweight gold medalist in 1964 — throughout a bout in Jamaica.
Foreman misplaced the title one 12 months later within the well-known “Rumble in the Jungle” towards Muhammed Ali in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
In 1977 after defeating Jimmy Younger in a battle in Puerto Rico, Foreman suffered from exhaustion and heatstroke in what he callled a near-death expertise.
He stepped away from boxing for a decade and returned to Texas.
His life took a whole 180-degree flip as he grew to become an ordained minister, and, in 1984, based the George Foreman Youth and Group Heart.
In 1987, Foreman returned to boxing, and in 1994 on the age of 45, 20 years after he misplaced a title to Ali, he was again on high after defeating Michael Moorer for his second heavyweight title.
“Anything you desire, you can make happen,” Foreman mentioned after that battle. “It’s like the song, ‘When you wish upon a star your dreams come true.’ Well, look at me tonight.”
In 1997, he retired for good, however on the time, he had already reinvented himself as a gregarious pitchman endorsing varied merchandise, probably the most well-known of which was the George Foreman Grill line, which earned him hundreds of thousands.
Foreman additionally made various tv appearances in his life, together with on a 1975 episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man” and, most not too long ago, on “The Masked Singer” in 2022.”
He had no less than 12 youngsters, and all 5 of his sons had been named George.
“I named all my sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common. I say to them, ‘If one of us goes up, then we all go up together, and if one goes down, we all go down together,’” Foreman wrote on his web site.
Together with his life spanning throughout sports activities and popular culture, individuals from throughout the spectrum had been saddened by the legend’s dying.
“Condolences to George Foreman’s family,” Mike Tyson wrote on X after the information of Foreman’s dying broke. “His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten.”
“Rest in peace, George Foreman. Your legacy lives on, champ,” NBA legend Scottie Pippen wrote.
“Condolences to the family of George Foreman,” wrote actor William Shatner.
“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’s household wrote of their assertion.
