Historical Spotlight: George Foreman
Everyone wants to leave a legacy worth remembering. There are many different ways to measure a successful life like nurturing a big, beautiful family, being a prominent member in society, or even accumulating wealth. While everyone has their own definition of a successful life, certain accomplishments are celebrated by the masses for the cultural impact left on the world. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on George Foreman and the legacy he left on not only the boxing world, but on society as a whole.
George Edward Foreman was born on January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas, the Fifth Ward community of Houston. He had six siblings and was raised by his mom, Nancy Foreman, and her second husband, J.D. Foreman. His biological father, Leroy Moorehead, was not in his life after leaving his mother when he was a small child.
Nancy was the daughter of a sharecropper and tried to give her children access to the opportunities she wasn’t able to take advantage of as a child. She encouraged her children to get a good education and avoid getting into trouble, but George struggled with staying on the straight and narrow. He dropped out of school at just 15 years old and had multiple encounters with police before a Job Corps ad featuring his football heroes, Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas, saved his life.
Aftering hearing about the opportunities to finish high school, learn a trade, and even play sports, George convinced his mom to sign him up. He earned his GED and trained to become a carpenter and bricklayer before moving to Pleasanton, California. While listening to a boxing match on the radio with some Job Corps buddies, he was encouraged to try the sport.
At 17 years old, he was already behind the typical curve for boxers’ development and training. His movements were awkward, he fell through the ropes, swung wildly, and had poor technique, but his coach, Doc Broaddus, kept encouraging him through his struggles. Eventually, his strength propelled him to competitions where he shocked the world with his victories.
On January 28, 1967, George won his first amateur boxing match in the Parks Diamond Belt Tournament. He delivered a first-round knockout to secure the victory. In March 1968, he won the National Boxing Championship heavyweight title in Toledo, Ohio after defeating Henry Crump.
He made the U.S. boxing team for the Mexico City Olympic Games in September 1968 and walked away with a gold medal after defeating his older, more experienced opponent from the Soviet Union in just two rounds. After winning the fight, he walked around the ring with a small U.S. flag and bowed to the crowd. He considered his Olympic gold medal to be his proudest achievement of his boxing career. George’s amatuer record was 22-4 when he decided to compete professionally in 1969.
During his first year as a professional boxer, he competed in and won 13 fights, 11 of which were won by knockout. In 1970, he remained undefeated through 12 competitions. In 1971, he won seven more fights, all by knockout. His record ballooned to 32-0, 29 of which were won by knockout, and he was ranked as the number-one challenger by the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council.
By 1972, George was still undefeated with an impressive knockout record to back up his skills, and was set to challenge undefeated and undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier. The Sunshine Showdown, which had George as a massive 3:1 underdog going into the fight, was held in Kingston, Jamaica on January 22, 1973. Despite not being the favored winner of the contest, George dominated the fight to win the championship by TKO. This was also the fight that coined the infamous saying, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!”.
After securing the World Title, he successfully defended it twice against Jose Roman, who he beat in only two minutes, and Ken Norton, whose match up became the legendary “Caracas Caper” after the Venezuelan government refused to waive all taxes involved with the fight.
On October 30, 1974, George was matched against Muhammad Ali for “The Rumble in the Jungle”. While George was favored to win the fight, Muhammad got a good start to outscore him in the first round and used the rope-a-dope technique to avoid any major hits. Since George hadn’t had a fight last past the fourth round since 1971, he quickly tired and his punches lost their power. Muhammad used his speed and quick movement to knock him down late in the eighth round.
It was the first time in his career that an opponent defeated him. Over the years, he wanted a rematch, but unfortunately he never got the chance. Fans speculated that Muhammad was dodging George by fighting lower risk opponents and only accepting rematches with Joe Frazier and Ken Norton.
After losing, George took a year off from fighting. He returned to the ring with an exhibition match called Foreman vs Five in 1975 in which he faced five contenders in a single night. There was criticism that his opponents were inexperienced, which led to the crowd booing him and chanting “Ali!”, who was commentating ring-side, as he made his appearance.
It was a charged atmosphere with lots of taunting from the two former competitors. After knocking out his first three opponents, the crowd got even more rowdy. George, who was enraged and exhausted, was unable to beat his last two opponents of the evening. While the match was initially meant to increase support for his comeback, it left more questions than answers about his abilities.
Over the subsequent years, George announced a professional comeback and was set on getting a rematch with Muhammad Ali. He fought Ron Lyle in 1976 during the “The Fight of the Year” and barely secured the victory. Both men traded equally hard blows and knocked each other down multiple times throughout the fight. George recalled that he had never been hit so hard in a fight before that one.
He faced and beat a few other opponents before losing to Jimmy Young in 1977. Immediately after this loss, he suffered from exhaustion and heat stroke in his dressing room. During his near-death experience, he felt called by God to change his life. He stopped fighting, despite not formally retiring from the sport, and became an ordained minister.
He dedicated his life to God and eventually became the minister of a church in Houston in 1980. He also opened the George Foreman Youth and Community Center to give back to the children and adolescents in the area. He started spreading his experiences on The 700 Club and the Trinity Broadcasting Network, using his life as a testimony of God’s grace.
Shocking the world, he announced a return to the ring in 1987. He was 38 at the time and wanted to raise money for the youth center as well as test his skills against Mike Tyson. While many criticized that boxing was a young man’s game, George wanted to prove that age wasn’t a barrier to reaching your goals.
Despite taking a decade off from competing, his mobility was still strong in the ring and he was still capable of landing heavy single blows. His fitness improved so he could comfortably compete for 12 rounds without experiencing the late-round fatigue that plagued him as a young man. Unfortunately, he noticed it was harder to keep his balance after throwing big punches and could no longer throw rapid combinations.
He competed strongly during his comeback, winning the majority of his fights. He won five fights in 1987, nine fights in 1988, five fights in 1989, and five fights in 1990, and faced notable fighters like Gerry Cooney and Bert Cooper.
In 1989, George sold his name and face for advertising for various products, making him a successful example of NIL and substantially improving his public image. He made appearances on The Tonight Show and replaced his intimidating stereotype with a more friendly disposition which catapulted him from just an athlete into celebrity status. He even set aside the beef with Muhammad Ali and the two became good friends later in life.
At 42 years old, George had the opportunity to challenge the undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield for the world title. Despite losing on points, he surprised fans by lasting the full 12 rounds. A year later, he defeated Alex Stewart with a majority decision win, but was bested by Tommy Morrison in 1993.
Continuing his hunt for the world championship, George challenged Michael Moorer in 1994 as an unranked fighter. The two fought on November 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada and George was a substantial underdog going into the match. He was outboxed for the first nine rounds, but made a significant comeback in the 10th round to win the world title by knockout.
As the crowd cheered, George went to his corner and prayed. At 45 years old, he became the oldest fighter ever to win a world championship and the oldest winner of a major title fight. He also broke the record for the fighter with the longest time between his first and second world championships at 20 years.
After his victory, he refused to fight the World Boxing Association’s number-one challenger, Tony Tucker, and allowed them to strip his belt. Similarly, after defending his IBF title against Axel Schulz in 1995, he refused an immediate rematch and was stripped of his belt. He was still recognized as the Lineal Heavyweight Champion, despite losing his titles.
George continued to fight for a couple more years until he lost against Shannon Briggs in 1997. He announced his retirement shortly after the match at the age of 48. His overall record was 76 wins and just five losses. Never losing his passion, he became a respected boxing analyst for HBO for 12 years until he left the sport to pursue other opportunities.
George married Mary Joan Martelly in 1985 and was with her until his death. He had four previous marriages and a total of 12 children. He named all five of his sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common with each other. Two of his seven daughters are adopted. His son, George III, and daughter, Freeda, both followed in their dad’s footsteps and pursued boxing.
The one product he’s known for the most is the George Foreman Grill, which went on to become a cultural icon. He attributed healthy eating for his success during his comeback and was approached by Salton, Inc., who was looking for a spokesperson for its fat-reducing grill. The partnership was a perfect fit, and George quickly became the face of the brand.
Salton paid him $138 million in 1999 for the right to use his name, but before that, he earned about 40% of the profits on each grill sold. By 2009, the grill had sold over 100 million units, easily making him $4.5 million a month in payouts at its peak. George never disclosed exactly how much he made from the endorsement, but it was definitely substantially more than he earned as a boxer.
Outside of being the iconic face behind one of the best selling kitchen appliances, George also dabbled into acting as well. He starred in nine episodes of the ABC sitcom George, which premiered in November 1993 and revolved around himself as a retired boxer. He also was in season eight of The Masked Singer in 2022 and even served as an executive producer on Big George Foreman, a 2023 Christian film based on his life.
George was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame for his amazing accomplishments and contributions to the sport. He is regarded as the eighth-greatest heavyweight of all time. In 2013, the American Legion honored him with the James V. Day “Good Guy” Award.
After a long, accomplished career and life, George died on March 21, 2025 at only 76 years old. He was surrounded by loved ones as he passed peacefully in a hospital in Houston.
While his physical body may be gone, his impact on boxing and society remains. George Foreman is a legend and was regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in athletic history as well as an incredibly smart businessman who capitalized on his success.
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Signed,
Jessica Marie
