George Foreman, world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist who later turned an entrepreneur recognized for the indoor grills that bore his identify, died Friday at 76.
“Our hearts are damaged,” an announcement on Foreman’s Instagram web page learn.
“With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr. who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by family members,” it learn.
A explanation for loss of life was not offered.
Foreman, often called “Large George,” gained an Olympic gold medal in boxing on the 1968 Olympic Video games in Mexico Metropolis when he was 19 years previous.
He gained the world heavyweight championship 5 years later in a shocking knockout of Joe Frazier in two rounds in 1973, however he misplaced it to Muhammad Ali the following yr within the well-known “Rumble within the Jungle.”
However Foreman was not completed. At 45, Foreman reclaimed the heavyweight title in 1994 when he beat Michael Moorer — a comeback that made him the oldest boxer to win the championship.
Foreman retired from boxing in 1977 and have become a born-again Christian. He mentioned in his biography on his web site that he had a non secular expertise in a dressing room after shedding in a call to Jimmy Younger on March 17, 1977, in Puerto Rico.
He was ordained as a minister the following yr, based the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1980, and in 1984 based the nonprofit George Foreman Youth and Neighborhood Middle in Houston.
Foreman returned to boxing in 1987, a decade after he retired.
He was also called an entrepreneur for the “George Foreman Grill” — formally known as the George Foreman Lean Imply Grilling Machine.
Greater than 100 million had been bought worldwide, in accordance with Foreman’s web site, and he turned a fixture on tv applications selling the machine in an apron.
“A religious preacher, a loyal husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and nice grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering religion, humility, and function,” the assertion asserting his loss of life Friday learn.
Humility and function weren’t all the time character traits for which Foreman was recognized.
He described himself on his web site as going “from thug to boxer.” He was born in Marshall, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1949, however grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, the place his web site mentioned he bullied different kids and “turned a mugger and brawler.”
Foreman credited the Job Corps program, began by President Lyndon B. Johnson, with the mentoring that led him from crime to a profession in boxing.
“I’ve been actually rescued from the gutter. I used to be out hiding from the police,” Foreman informed NBC Information in an interview in 2023, the yr the biopic “Large George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the As soon as and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World” was launched.
“The following factor you understand, I’m within the Job Corps program getting three meals in sooner or later. They constructed me into what I’ve turn out to be,” he mentioned.
He informed NBC Information that he gained the heavyweight title a second time as a result of he realized learn how to battle with out anger.
Getty Photos
Getty Photos Heavyweight champion George Foreman (r) and Muhammad Ali (l) change punches throughout their world heavyweight title boxing match in 1974.
“I began working with youngsters to make sure they keep on the fitting street,” he mentioned, instructing them to by no means throw “a punch in anger. I taught it a lot, I began to consider in it. I went again to boxing, turned champ of the world, however I by no means had one ounce of anger in my life.”
Fellow world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was amongst these sharing condolences after Foreman’s loss of life Friday.
“Condolences to George Foreman’s household. His contribution to boxing and past won’t ever be forgotten,” Tyson wrote on X.
ESPN known as Foreman “one of the crucial influential and recognizable boxers of all time.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott remarked, “a legend misplaced.”
“The world knew Foreman as a two-time heavyweight champion,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire mentioned in a press release. “We knew him as a proud member of our neighborhood — a person whose coronary heart was as huge as his highly effective punch.”
William Shatner, who appeared with Foreman on the fact tv journey present “Higher Late Than By no means” in 2016, additionally expressed his condolences.
Others on social media acknowledged Foreman for the grill, which was a typical sight in residence kitchens and school dorm rooms alike in its heyday.
Foreman emphasised that a part of his life within the 2023 interview with NBC Information.
“Being trustworthy, I’m not a spokesman for boxing. I’m a spokesman for the George Foreman Grill. And I’m a minister full time on the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ” in Houston, he mentioned then, with a pleasant chuckle.
Foreman’s household mentioned they had been grateful to be in his extraordinary life.
“A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply revered — a pressure for good, a person of self-discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, combating tirelessly to protect his good identify— for his household,” the assertion mentioned.
“We’re grateful for the outpouring of affection and prayers, and kindly ask for privateness as we honor the extraordinary lifetime of a person we had been blessed to name our personal.”
Joe Kottke and Colin Sheeley contributed.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. Extra from NBC Information:
