Richard Pryor did a comedy bit about Muhammad Ali and George Foreman back during the 1970s. “George has a unique boxing style – none,” The late comic said going on to joke that Foreman just asks which man in the ring is the referee because he’s going to kill the other one.
At 19, he won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in boxing. At 24, he won over then-undefeated Joe Frazier for the title of heavyweight champion. The title bout would birth the iconic phrase “Down goes Frazier” spoken by Howard Cosell. And in 1974, Forman and Ali faced off for the iconic “Rumble in the Jungle” title bout in the African country of Zaire, which is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Foreman suffered his first loss to Ali. But every boxer knows when you get knocked down, you get back up again. Foreman tried to regain a shot at the title against boxer Jimmy Young in 1977. He stepped away from the ring after the bout claiming to have a near-death experience which led to him becoming a born-again Christian. Foreman later became an ordained minister of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
From 1977 to 1987, Foreman spent his time opening a youth center and preaching appearing on The 700 Club and other Christian programs. Then, at the age of 38 when most boxers are well past their retirement age, Foreman announced his comeback both in the ring and out. It wouldn’t be the 1980s if someone didn’t make some extra money.
In 1989, he licensed his face and name for the advertisement of various products, most famously the George Foreman Electric Grill line in 1994. The machines manufactured by Spectrum Brands were a clamshell design of cookware that would cook food and the grease would slide down into a tray. The advertisement got on the weight-loss craze of the era. But in all honesty, I always felt the metal used inside of the grills left a bad aftertaste. Regardless, the products brought Foreman millions in residuals. He reportedly made over $200 million, way more than he ever would as a boxer.
In 1991, Foreman would battled Evander Holyfield in a title bout advertised as “The Battle of the Ages.” Foreman was 42 at the time. Holyfield was 28 and he had just won the heavyweight title seven months earlier when he defeated James “Buster” Douglas on Oct. 25, 1990. The April 19, 1991 fight between Foreman and Holyfield became the highest grossing boxing event for the time being and brought in about $55 million.
Holyfield won in a unanimous decision after a 12-round bout. But if people thought this was Foreman’s last chance to win the heavyweight championship, he proved them wrong. On Nov. 5, 1994, at the age of 45, Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to regain the heavyweight championship title. However, he would be stripped of the title in 1995 when he refused to compete against Tony Tucker which the WBA had required him to fight as a challenger.
There was speculation Foreman refused to work with Don King over bad blood from the “Rumble in the Jungle.” And Foreman had been wanting to fight Mike Tyson who was released on March 25, 1995 following a rape conviction. After losing the title again, Foreman retired officially from boxing and returned to promoting the Grill line and working as a pastor.
Foreman had briefly attempted to be a TV star working on 1993-1994 sitcom George alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph. Foreman plays a retired boxer who runs an after-school program. The show received negative reviews and only ran for nine episodes.
Foreman died on March 21 at the age of 76. He was married five times and had 12 children.
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Zane Says 