Heavyweight boxing great George Foreman dead at 76: Family
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American George Foreman died on March 21 at age 76.
PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES – Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who fought and lost against Muhammad Ali in boxing’s iconic 1974 Rumble In The Jungle before reclaiming the title two decades later, died on March 21 aged 76, his family announced in a statement.
“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,” they posted on the boxer’s official Instagram page.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers, and kindly ask for privacy as we honour the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own.”
Boxing paid tribute to one of its greats.
“His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten,” fellow former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson posted on X.
Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum saluted Foreman as “one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen”.
United States President Donald Trump paid tribute to a “GREAT FIGHTER” whom he “knew well”.
“He was something really Special, but above all, he was a Great Person,” Trump posted on his platform Truth Social.
Born in Texas on Jan 10, 1949, Foreman grew up in Houston. The man who raised him was frequently absent and often drunk. Foreman only found out that J. D. Foreman was not his biological father after he won the world heavyweight title when his real father, a decorated World War II veteran, got in touch.
As an adolescent, he flirted with crime and dropped out of school at 16. It was then that he took up boxing.
“I wanted to be a football player,” he said on his website. “I tried boxing just to show my friends that I wasn’t afraid. Well, 25 fights and one year later, I was an Olympic gold medallist.”
At the Mexico City Games in 1968, the 19-year-old Foreman bludgeoned his way to the heavyweight gold past the Soviet Union’s Jonas Cepulis.
At 1.93m, “Big George” was larger and stronger than the other leading heavyweights of the time. He was light on his feet, but slugged his way through the professional ranks to earn a heavyweight title shot against champion Joe Frazier, demolishing the champion in two rounds in 1973.
By the time he fought his third title defence over 15 rounds against Ali in Congo in October 1974, Foreman was unbeaten in 40 professional bouts. But Ali’s “rope-a-dope” tactics exhausted the big man, who lost in eight rounds.
The defeat punctured Foreman’s intimidating aura, not least, in his own mind.
“I just couldn’t believe I’d lost the world title,” he said later. “It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. It went from pride to pity. That’s devastating.”
His campaign for another title shot ended when he lost on points to Jimmy Young in March 1977 in Puerto Rico. Foreman fell ill after the fight and said he sensed God telling him to change his life.
He retired aged 28 and became an ordained minister. When he announced his comeback 10 years later, bald where he had once sported an Afro and flabby instead of chiselled, it seemed like a gimmick. He wrote later that he needed money for the youth centre he founded in Texas.
He won all his next 24 bouts, mostly against mediocre opponents, before earning title shots against Evander Holyfield in 1991 and then against Tommy Morrison two years later, losing both on points.
George Foreman of the US shows off his muscles at age 47 during a press conference in Tokyo on Oct 27, 1996.
PHOTO: AFP
In November 1994, he faced Michael Moorer, who had dethroned Holyfield.
In the same shorts he had worn 20 years and six days earlier against Ali, Foreman was trailing badly when he caught Moorer on the chin in the 10th for a knockout. At 45 years and 299 days old, he was, and remains, the oldest heavyweight world champion.
Foreman’s last bout was in 1997, losing to Shannon Briggs and ending his career with a professional record of 76 wins and five losses.
He was married four times in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he married for the fifth time to Mary Joan Martelly, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. He had five sons – all called George – five biological daughters, and two adopted daughters. AFP, REUTERS
