George Foreman

George Edward Foreman (b. January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas) is a two-time World boxing Champion and is considered one of the greatest Heavyweights of all time. Foreman was raised in Houston, Texas's Fifth Ward. He is also a successful businessman and an ordained Christian minister. His nickname is Big George. He is the father of reality show star George Foreman III. According to an ESPN "SportsCentury" profile, George's massive size (6'4) in relation to that of his brothers led to the revelation that he was illegitimate. His biological father took no part in his upbringing. He named each of his sons George, he said, because he wants them to know who their father is. He has 10 children (5 daughters and 5 sons) with his wife, Joan; all 5 sons are named George Edward Foreman, one daughter is Georgette. His daughter, Freeda Foreman, is a former competitor in the sport of Women's boxing.

Early Years & Amateur Career

During his youth, he was often in trouble with the law. He admitted to mugging people by, literally, holding his victims upside-down by their feet. He joined the Job Corps to do something better with his life. While stationed in Oregon, Foreman became infamous for his belligerent attitude, often picking fights with his fellow trainees. On the verge of expulsion, he met Job Corps supervisor Charles “Doc” Broadus, who saw promise in Foreman’s physical strength. Under the direction of Broadus, Foreman trained to be a boxer.

Foreman had a stellar amateur career as he achieved remarkable record of 16 victories in 18 fights. By the tender age of 19, he qualified for the U.S. Olympic boxing team. He went on to win the heavyweight class gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. When he held an American flag in his hand as he stood on the victor's stand, a few members of the black community chastised him for being an Uncle Tom.

Professional Career

Foreman turned professional in 1969 with a three round knockout of Donald Walheim in New York. He had a total of 13 fights that year, winning all, 11 by knockout. Among the fighters he defeated was Cookie Wallace, who lasted only twenty-three seconds.

In 1970, Foreman continued rolling on, winning all 12 bouts, all by knockout. Among the opponents he beat were Gregorio Peralta, who lasted the ten round distance with Foreman at the Madison Square Garden, George Chuvalo, who was known for having one of the most solid chins in boxing, was beaten in three, Charlie Polite, who lasted four, and Boone Kirkman, knocked out in three.

In 1971, Foreman won seven more fights, including a rematch with Peralta, whom he defeated by knockout in the tenth and last round in Oakland, California and a win over Leroy Caldwell, who went in the second. After amassing a record of 32-0, Foreman was ranked as the number one challenger by the WBA and WBC.

In 1972, his string of wins continued, winning five bouts in a row, all within three rounds.

With that, Foreman was set to challenge for the world's Heavyweight championship, and so, in January 22, 1973, Foreman faced world Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, knocking him out in the second round to become the world's champion. In what was HBO Boxing's first transmission ever, the call made by Howard Cosell, the broadcaster that night (Down goes Frazier!!, Down goes Frazier!!, Down goes Frazier!) became one of the most memorable sports calls of all time.

Foreman was sometimes characterized by the media as an aloof and anti-social champion. According to them, he always seemed to wear a sneer in his face during this time, and was at times not available to the press.

Nevertheless, Foreman went on to defend his title successfully twice during this reign, his first defense, in Tokyo against Puerto Rican Heavyweight champion Jose Roman lasted only 50 seconds, the fastest ever for a world Heavyweight championship bout. In his next defense, in 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela, he scored a second round knock out over Ken Norton, who had beaten Muhammad Ali the previous year.

Around this time, Foreman was widely considered to be the most physically empowered specimen and hardest hitter in the history of the sport. His technique wasn't anything special, he relied simply on his absolutely phenomenal strength to dispose of his opponents. At this point he was considered the greatest heavyweight in the world.

His next defense, however, spelled doom: During the late summer of '74, he moved to Congo (then Zaire), where he would defend against Muhammad Ali, in what became known as The Rumble in the Jungle. During training there, he suffered a cut, having to suspend the fight for one more month. Ali dedicated this month to endear himself to the public of Zaire, and taunt Foreman at every possible stop, making Foreman very angry and frustrated. When they finally squared off, Foreman mainly lost because of the "Rope-a-dope" technique Ali used. Foreman suffered his first defeat, being knocked out in the eighth round.

He spent 1975 inactive, but in 1976, he returned to boxing, in Las Vegas. He boxed Ron Lyle, in a fight hailed by Ring Magazine as The Fight Of The Year. In a brutal fourth round, Lyle knocked down Foreman, only to have Foreman get up from the canvas to knock down Lyle moments later. In the closing seconds of the round, Lyle knocked Foreman down again, with Foreman making it up before the ten count. With both men in a weakened state, but with one having to muster up the fortitude to put the other away, Foreman knocked out Lyle in the fifth round. Then, he knocked out Frazier in a rematch in five, Scott Ledoux in three, and Dino Dennis in four to finish the year.

Retirement

1977 would prove to be a life changing year for Foreman. After knocking out Pedro Agosto in four rounds at Pensacola, Florida, Foreman flew to Puerto Rico, where he lost a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young. Foreman became very ill in his dressing room after the fight. He was suffering from exhaustion and heatstroke and believed he had had a near death experience. He claimed he found himself in a hellish, frightening place of nothingness and despair. He began to plead with God to help him. He explained that he sensed God asking him to change his life and ways. After this experience, Foreman became a born-again Christian, dedicating his life for the next decade to Christianity. Foreman retired from boxing, and became an ordained minister of a church in Texas. He devoted himself to his family and his parishioners. He also opened a youth center which bears his name.

Comeback

In 1987, he surprised the boxing world by announcing a comeback. For his first fight back, he went to Sacramento, California, where he beat Steve Zouski by a knockout in four rounds. Foreman claimed he returned to the ring to prove that even after the age of 40 people could still achieve their goals. He won four more bouts that year, and in 1988, he won nine, including a seven round knockout against former world Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

By that time, Foreman had become a successful business entrepreneur, selling everything from hamburgers to mufflers on TV. The formerly aloof, unfriendly Foreman had been replaced by a smiling, friendly George. He and Ali had become very good friends, and he followed in his former rival and friend's footsteps by making himself a celebrity outside the boundaries of boxing.

In 1989, Foreman continued his winning ways, winning five fights, including a 5-round knockout of former world Light Heavyweight champion JB Williamson, and a 3-round win over future Heavyweight title challenger Bert Cooper.

In 1990, Foreman became once again a ranked contender, and he beat former title challenger Gerry Cooney by a knockout in two. He won four more fights that year.

He started 1991 by realizing one of his dreams and challenging world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield for the world title in a Pay Per View boxing event. Foreman went twelve rounds with Holyfield before losing the decision. Round 7 was Ring Magazine's Round Of The Year. Once the fight was finished Foreman made the reporters feel half of his dream had been completed by saying that he showed the world people can go the full 12 rounds after reaching their forties.

Foreman boxed only twice more before receiving his next world title shot, for the vacant WBO championship against Tommy Morrison. Morrison beat Foreman in twelve rounds by decision, but Foreman refused to give up on his dream.

Regaining the Heavyweight Titles

In 1994, Foreman once again went for the world championship, after Michael Moorer had beaten Holyfield for the IBF and WBA titles. Foreman was trailing badly on all scorecards when he suddenly knocked out Moorer in the 10th round on November 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. With this, Foreman broke two records: He became, at the age of 45, the oldest fighter ever to win the world Heavyweight crown, and, 20 years after losing his world title for the first time, he broke the record for the fighter with the most time in between one world championship run and the next.

George had apparently lost some speed in the ring since his first retirement, but still had the frightening power. He relied, once again, solely on that strength to defeat his opponents.

Shortly after the Moorer fight, Foreman was stripped of the WBA title because he refused to fight mandatory opponent Tony Tucker. He then went on to beat Axel Schulz of Germany to retain his title, by a 12-round majority decision. This verdict was very controversial, and the IBF ordered an immediate rematch to be held in Germany. Foreman refused to travel to Germany, and in the process, was stripped of the title.

In 1996, Foreman returned to Tokyo, where he beat Crawford Grimsley by a 12-round decision, and in 1997, he also beat Lou Savarese by decision. After the WBC decided to give the winner of his fight with Shannon Briggs a title shot against world champion Lennox Lewis, Foreman and Briggs fought, Briggs winning a disputed 12-round majority decision. After this bout, Foreman announced his retirement.

Second retirement

Foreman planned to box a return bout against Larry Holmes in 1999. The bout was scheduled to take place at the Houston Astrodome on pay per view. The fight was to be billed as "The Birthday Bash" due to both fighters upcoming birthdays. Foreman was set to make 10 million dollars and Holmes was to make 4 million dollars. However, negotiations fell through and the fight was cancelled. Immediately after the cancellation of the bout, Foreman said he had no plans to resume his career as a boxer. He announced in February 2004 he was training for one comeback fight, but his plans were stopped by his wife.

The George Foreman Grill & Other Business Ventures

Apart from his ads for Meineke mufflers, Foreman also tours the world promoting his George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine. Interestingly, Foreman has made more money from his grilling machine contracts than he made during his entire boxing career. He has also suggested that he's better known for the grill than he is for his boxing. The Motley Fool Radio Show, April 3, 2006 ^*

The grill has become world famous as a fat reducing inexpensive fast cooking household item. The grill slogan is "knock out the fat". Since it was first sold in 1995, over 55 million grills have been purchased. Foreman has made well over $150 million from the sales of his grills. This is more money than he made during his long boxing career.

Foreman won't say how much he has made as a product endorser, but he doesn't dispute a published estimate that his lifetime earnings are about $240 million -- three times what he earned in the ring. In 1999, Salton bought the rights to use his name and selling skills in perpetuity for $127.5 million in cash and $10 million in stock. It stands as one of the biggest endorsement deals for any athlete. And in retrospect, it looks brilliant. Under the original '95 deal, Foreman had a right to about 40% of the profits from the grills, which range in price from $20 to $150. At the height of its success, Foreman received $4.5 million a month in payouts, says Salton CEO Leonhard Dreimann. But in the past few years, consumers have put off replacing their old Foreman grills, and Salton has struggled: It reported a loss of $3.2 million on sales of $274 million in its most recent quarter.

In 2006 Foreman began marketing a line of "Big and Tall" clothes through the retailer Casual Male. His clothing features "comfort zone" technology which expands and contracts as the wearer's weight fluctuates.

Hall Of Fame

In January of 2003, Foreman was elected to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, where he was inducted in June. That same year, he was named boxing's ninth greatest puncher of all time by Ring Magazine (see Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time). Foreman usually makes many boxing fans' top 10 heavyweight lists and still has many fans worldwide.

Trivia

During his 1991 match against Holyfield, Foreman remained standing in his corner between all 12 rounds.
All of his Lean Mean Fat Reducing products bear his signature and the tag line "Knock Out the Fat" (a reference to his boxing career).
In 2004 George Foreman Enterprises was launched (GFME.OB). In late 2005 George's lifestyle brand company launched a promotional venture with Circle Group Holdings Inc (CXN). The alliance centered on the promotion of a zero-calorie fat substitute (Z-Trim), a product manufactured by CXN. In the press release announcing the partnership, George declared Z-Trim his "new secret" and to date it has largely remained that way.
In 2006 a hoax regarding Foreman's supposed loss of fingerprints was initiated by comedians Ross Noble and Terri Psiakis on their Australian radio show.
George Foreman has appeared as a guest star in The Matthew Barnard Show as himself in Episode 4: Matt Wants His Baby Back.
Both George and Freeda Foreman lent their voices to King of the Hill, in the episode Boxing Luane during which Freeda boxes Luane and George takes offense to Hank Hill calling his grill a "novelty grill."
George also appeared in the show Gameshow Marathon, being one of the six panelists in the Match Game segment.
in recent years, Foreman was the subject of a film project by amateur filmmakers, including James M Dean. The spoof, considered by some to be both racist and sexist to almost the extreme, was never truly endorsed by foreman yet is found humorous by many viewers, despite its constant swearing, violence, and repulsive scenes.

Notes

External links

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