Two-Time Heavyweight Champion George Foreman is Dead

• George Foreman, two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, has died at the age of 76.

• Known as “Big George,” he won 76 professional bouts with 68 knockouts and became the oldest heavyweight champion at age 45.

• Beyond boxing, Foreman achieved massive success with the George Foreman Grill, earning more from the venture than his boxing career.

Boxing heavyweight icon George Foreman has passed away at the age of 76, his family confirmed.

Affectionately known as “Big George,” Foreman carved out one of the most extraordinary and enduring careers in boxing history. He won Olympic gold in 1968 and became a two-time world heavyweight champion — with an incredible 21 years separating his two titles. His second triumph at age 45 made him the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

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Foreman’s first reign came to an end in 1974 when he lost to Muhammad Ali in the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle.” Despite that setback, Foreman amassed a remarkable professional record of 76 wins, including 68 knockouts — nearly double Ali’s total knockouts.

He retired from boxing in 1997, but not before lending his name to the George Foreman Grill, a business venture that earned him far more than his prizefighting career, making him a household name beyond the sport.

His family paid tribute in an Instagram post on Friday night, writing:
“Our hearts are broken. A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose.”

They continued:
“A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two-time heavyweight champion of the world, he was deeply respected — a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name for his family.”

Born on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, Foreman grew up in the segregated American South. Raised by a single mother alongside six siblings, he dropped out of school and was involved in street crime before discovering boxing as a path to redemption.

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At just 19, Foreman won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He turned professional shortly after and won 37 consecutive fights, including a dominant victory over the undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973, knocking him down six times in just two rounds to claim the heavyweight crown.

Foreman’s bout with Ali in 1974, held in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), remains one of the most iconic events in sports history. Ali, considered an underdog after being stripped of his title years earlier for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, stunned the world with his famous “rope-a-dope” strategy to reclaim the championship.

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