"I didn't come back for the money. I just got sick of beating people up for free."
American boxer, born in 1949 in
Marshall, Texas. He spent his
youth as a general
thug and
nogoodnik, but joined the
Job Corps in an attempt to turn his life around. There, he started
boxing and was able to convert his
strength and
skill in the ring into a
gold medal in
heavyweight boxing in the
Mexico City Olympics in 1968.
Foreman started his
professional boxing career in 1971. In 1973, he knocked
Joe Frazier to the mat six times before scoring a second-round
knockout to become the
heavyweight champion. The next year, he took on
Muhammad Ali in the "
Rumble in the Jungle" in
Zaire; though heavily favored against Ali, the
intimidating, more
powerful, and often-
belligerent Foreman got out-
strategized and out-lasted by Ali.
After losing a 12-round
decision to
Jimmy Young in 1977, Foreman had a
religious conversion in his
dressing room. He
retired from boxing and eventually became an
ordained
minister. He transformed himself from a
brooding,
angry brawler into a
happy and
affectionate good guy--surely one of the more
effective high-profile
campaigners for
Christianity out there. He even
preaches, on at least a semi-regular basis, at the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in
Houston, Texas.
Trying to earn more money for a
youth center he had founded, Foreman returned to the
ring in 1987 and, against all
expectations, became a
contender again. He went 12 rounds against
Evander Holyfield in 1991 and, while he didn't win, the 40-year-old Foreman also didn't get
humiliated, which is what many viewers were expecting. In 1993, he starred in a short-lived
sitcom called "
George", and in 1994, Foreman, then 45, knocked out 26-year-old
Michael Moorer in ten rounds to
regain the heavyweight title.
In 1995, Foreman lent his name to the
George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine and became its
enthusiastic spokesman. He also transformed his love of
food and
cooking from a
hobby to a minor career, writing several
cookbooks and hosting a
cooking show.
Foreman has been married a number of times. He has ten kids, five
girls and five
boys--and yes, all of the boys are named
George. Heck, one of the girls is named
Georgette and another is named
Freeda George. If you got a working
formula, why change it, right?
In his 81
professional fights from 1971 to 1997, Foreman had 76
wins (with 68
knockouts) and only five
losses.
Research from www.biggeorge.com
/me hopes one of you Foreman scholars out there can make a better writeup than I did...