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George Foreman dies at 76 (3:27)
Mark Kriegel talks about the life of two-time heavyweight champion George Foreman, who died at the age of 76. (3:27)
“Big” George Foreman, one of the most influential and recognizable boxers of all time, died Friday, his family announced on his social media account. He was 76.
Foreman, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1968, was a two-time heavyweight champion and Hall of Fame boxer.
He is perhaps best known for the historic Rumble in the Jungle bout with Muhammad Ali in 1974 in Zaire, a fight Foreman lost in an upset via eighth-round knockout. It’s arguably the most famous fight of all time, and the “When We Were Kings” film that chronicled the fight won an Oscar for best documentary feature.
Foreman made history yet again later in his career. He fought five more times after he lost the heavyweight championship to Ali at age 25, including a fifth-round TKO victory over Joe Frazier (whom he stopped in two rounds to first win the title) and a fifth-round knockout of Ron Lyle in a classic slugfest.
After that fifth fight at 28, Foreman shockingly announced his retirement and began a career as an ordained minister in his native Texas.
George Foreman is led away after knocking down Joe Frazier during their bout in Kingston, Jamaica, on Jan. 22, 1973. Foreman won by TKO. AP Photo
Foreman was retired for 10 years. He returned to boxing in 1987 at age 38 and mounted arguably the most impressive sports comeback ever.
At first, Foreman padded his record with easy wins. One of them was a second-round knockout of Gerry Cooney. But in 1991, Foreman proved this comeback was for real when he pushed the great Evander Holyfield to the brink in a classic heavyweight title fight at age 42. Though he was unsuccessful in his bid to become a two-time heavyweight champion, Foreman was undeterred.
Five fights later, after a loss to Tommy Morrison, Foreman accomplished the unthinkable.
Down on the scorecards in another title fight, Foreman landed a two-punch combination that laid Michael Moorer down for the count of 10 in 1994. At 45 years, 299 days old, Foreman was once again the heavyweight champion of the world, the oldest man to hold boxing’s greatest prize (and also the oldest champion ever, a record that stood for 20 years).
“It happened,” Jim Lampley called on the HBO broadcast. “It happened!”
Foreman went on to have a successful career alongside Lampley as an HBO boxing analyst. But his greatest success outside the ring was yet to come.
The same year that Foreman defeated Moorer, he launched his eponymous grill, which went on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the George Foreman grill for $138 million.
Foreman’s final fight came in November 1997, a majority decision loss to Shannon Briggs.
He held his role with HBO as a ringside analyst for 12 years, ending in 2004.
The Ring named Foreman the ninth-greatest puncher of all time and, in 2002, one of the 25 best boxers of the past 80 years.
In a statement, Top Rank called Foreman “one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen.”
“George was a great friend to not only myself but to my entire family,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “We’ve lost a family member and are absolutely devastated.”
Lampley said Foreman’s death was “a massive loss” and that he feels “blessed and privileged to have known him.”
“Tonight, I am flooded with tears after learning of the death of my dear friend and broadcast partner George Foreman. I loved him,” Lampley said in a statement. “He was a great fighter and a far, far greater human being. Every great thing that ever happened to him, and there were many extraordinary blessings, was richly deserved. My thoughts and prayers tonight are with his family and his friends and his congregation.”
