George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. As a professional boxer, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1969 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he is known for the George Foreman Grill.
After a troubled childhood, Foreman took up amateur boxing and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Having turned professional the next year, he won the world heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. He defended the belt twice before suffering his first professional loss, to Muhammad Ali in the iconic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Unable to secure another title opportunity, Foreman retired after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977.
Following what he referred to as a religious epiphany, Foreman became an ordained Christian minister. Ten years later he announced a comeback, and in 1994 at age 45 won the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal heavyweight championship titles by knocking out 26-year-old Michael Moorer. He dropped the WBA belt rather than face his mandatory title defense soon after, and following a single IBF title defense on June 28, 1995, Foreman renounced his title– the last major belt he ever held. He was 46 years and 169 days old, becoming the oldest world heavyweight champion in history. Foreman is the oldest to ever win the world heavyweight boxing championship, and the second-oldest in any weight class after Bernard Hopkins (at light heavyweight). He retired in 1997 at the age of 48, with a final record of 76 wins (68 knockouts) and 5 losses.
Foreman has been ranked by BoxRec among the world's 10 best heavyweights 17 times, the third most in history, reaching his career-high ranking of No.2 at the conclusion of 1972, 1973 and 1974. His fights against Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in 1973 and 1974 received a 5-Star rating from BoxRec. Foreman has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Foreman as the eighth-greatest heavyweight of all time. In 2002, he was named one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring.The Ring ranked him as the ninth-greatest puncher of all time. He was a ringside analyst for HBO's boxing coverage for 12 years until 2004. Outside boxing, he is a successful entrepreneur and known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the grill for $138 million.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
