George Foreman — A Fan’s Eulogy

March 21st 2025 was Mr George Edward Foreman’s last in this life. Humanity’s lease on his soul elapsed, and God came to reclaim him. We did not lose George Foreman, for you cannot lose something you do not own. Foreman’s life belonged to God and has since returned to its creator. As a born-again Christian preacher, that’s how I believe he would’ve spoken of his passing.

Multiple interpretations of the same individual exist via the perceptions of others. A precious few will remember him as a father, some as a friend, a preacher, a boxer or a salesman, but all will recall him fondly. My perception of George Foreman is as a mentor, a guide, and a kindred spirit. I cannot claim to have known the man, the extent of our relationship was a single interaction via Facebook when he “liked” the birthday message I sent him. But, as distant as we were, George Foreman is a figure whose actions and accomplishments speak loudly, loud enough to cross the chasm of proximity, time, and scarcity.

During our co-existence on this earth, he was a man I looked up to deeply. And though I am unsure if my interpretation of Foreman’s character is the most precise or accurate, it is sincere. Whereas others will discuss what he accomplished, I want to reflect on what he stood for in my eyes.

Amazing Grace

“Things changed for me. I literally, definitely died. I had an experience when I was dead and alive again. Changed everything.” — George Foreman (May 11th, 2023) via I AM ATHLETE

The Two Lives of George Foreman

Above all things, Foreman was a man who lived and died twice, both as immensely different people. The first George Foreman was born on January 10th, 1949 and died backstage in the locker room after a boxing match with Jimmy Young on March 17th, 1977, at age 28. That same evening, George Foreman was born again as a Christian, the man we remember fondly. His lease on life was renewed for the better.

By his own admission, for his first twenty-eight years of life, Foreman was “not the nicest guy”. He was an intimidator, a bully in the boxing ring, much like his early training partner Sonny Liston. In the 1950s and 60s, Liston was widely regarded as the most fear-inspiring presence in boxing, but in the 1970s George Foreman followed suit, inheriting that mantle. He came across as a burly, surly, mighty, man of few words and little charm.

Young George Foreman (Right) pictured with Charles “Sonny” Liston (Left)

In 1973, a twenty-four-year-old Foreman demolished the undefeated champion, Joe Frazier, knocking him down six times in two rounds. The following year, he likewise made easy work of future WBC champion, Ken Norton. By the time Foreman encountered Muhammad Ali in October of 1974, he had amassed 40 consecutive wins with 37 by knockout, including the only two men to have beaten Ali, Frazier and Norton. Foreman’s career was at its peak in 1974, he was a young, intimidating heavyweight champion that the public believed would reign for a long time. Foreman’s championship defence against Ali is regarded as one of the greatest mega-events in sports history, “The Rumble In The Jungle”.

Foreman suffered his only knockout defeat at the hands of Muhammed Ali. It was a humiliating knockout loss in the heat of Africa, Kinshasa Zaire. After taking a flurry of punches off the ropes from Muhammad Ali, An exhausted Foreman pirouetted to the canvas, as Ali watched him fall. He lay on his back, staring at the lights. He allowed himself to be knocked out.

Muhammad Ali Knocks out George Foreman, (Zaire, 1974), CLICK HERE to watch FREE

Following the fight, he struggled to claw his way back to a world championship opportunity against Ali. This period from 1975 to 1977, saw Foreman mentally unravelling — it was a dark time rife with turbulence and self-doubt. Foreman transmuted his anguish during each fight, producing some of his most ferocious performances: Foreman vs Five Men, when George Foreman defeated five professional boxers consecutively within one night; Foreman vs Lyle, famously known as “the phonebooth fight”, widely regarded as the greatest “slugfest” in boxing history; and Foreman vs Frazier II, wherein he brutally retired the former champion, Joe Frazier. This turbulent period ended one night against Jimmy Young, an underrated boxing maestro with a patchy record representative of his sublime skillset.

“The Phonebooth Fight” (1976), The 1976 “Fight of the Year” CLICK HERE to watch FREE

Foreman lost the fight, returned to the locker room, and, in his own words, died. Of this experience, he said he witnessed hell, death, and the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion appearing on his body. He thought about his wealth, real estate and sporting achievements, and witnessed them crumble into nothingness. From then on, Foreman was a changed man, a gracious, grateful, soulful man. And he carried that energy until his death. After his religious experience, Foreman unofficially retired to become an evangelist. He did not fight, train, or run for the following decade.

George Foreman, a man passed by anger, anguish and insecurity, flipped into a gentle, generous, amicable figure, seemingly overnight. Regardless, of whether you believe in God, his transformation is a testament to the power of faith.

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

“I’m going to go out there and show the world that 45 and 55 is not a death sentence, we can do anything we want to do.” — Foreman, June 1993 via The Guardian (original HBO footage lost)

George Foreman returns to Boxing Aged 38+

Years after his boxing career, Foreman was in a precarious financial situation. Foreman founded his George Foreman Youth Centre to build a community for the local youth. This particularly benefitted those from broken homes or bad neighbourhoods, those who were more susceptible to crime and gang violence. The Youth Center started with a $1 annual fee and contained social spaces, books, and sports facilities, including boxing rings. Needless to say, upkeep for the facilities was paid out of Foreman’s pockets, but his money was running out. Running and maintaining the Youth Center was costly, and his children needed money for college fees. Foreman’s finances were running slim — he even describes himself as “broke” during this time, much like his idol, Joe Louis.

George Foreman (Left), Joe Louis (Centre), Archie Moore (Right)

“George, it’s great that you’re trying to help people. But I have to tell you, you’re going to be the saddest boxing story since Joe Louis began standing out there at Caesars Palace shaking hands. You can’t afford to keep this place up. You’re going to have to pull back.” — Ed Wallaceson, Foreman’s attorney at the time

To raise money for the Youth Center, Foreman, who had grown fat and out-of-shape, decided to make money the old-fashioned way — he was going to bleed for it in the blood sport, boxing. It took him an entire year to get his body back in competitive condition, and it wasn’t easy. Foreman, now thirty-eight years old, was well past his physical prime. After a ten-year hiatus from the sport, he returned to the ring to ridicule and doubt from the fans. They called him a “fraud”, “a joke”, and “washed-up”. But Foreman proved them wrong.

Most athletes are considered “retirement age” by 35 years old, whereas Foreman was three years older than that, beginning a sports career from scratch. Though the public laughed and doubted at first, after three years of consecutive wins, Foreman, aged forty-one, had climbed up the ranks to a world title opportunity against “The Real Deal” Evander Holyfield, an undefeated champion in his prime.

Evander Holyfield, 28-years-old (Left) vs George Foreman, 41-years-old (Right)

Foreman put forth an admirable effort and lasted the full distance of twelve rounds, ultimately losing the fight. After the fight, Holyfield would comment on George Foreman’s obscene punching power.

“He’s slow as Christmas… he’s not fast… but the difference is, he’s got good timing… I got hit, and I asked em [the cornerman], ‘what did he hit me with?’” — Evander Holyfield on fighting George Foreman via VLAD TV

“He hit me one time and my feet froze up. I’d never been hit like that before. I remember coming back to my corner and asking: ‘Did he knock all my teeth out?’” — Evander Holyfield on fighting George Foreman via Fight Hub TV

Though Foreman lost, his effort was good enough to remain in heavyweight championship contention. Two years later, aged forty-three, he was given a second chance at a championship against Tommy Morrison. However, Foreman fell short once again. He appeared to have declined since the Holyfield fights and it was apparent that age was catching up with him. After this loss, Foreman did not fight for over a year, and most assumed he was finished. He was in his mid-forties, and had twice failed to recapture the heavyweight title in his second career — the public told him it was time to hang up the gloves. He had proved himself formidable, but not championship calibre, not at middle age. It was a fun ride whilst it lasted, but it seemed that the magic was lost for this miraculous comeback. It was well and truly over.

Foreman (43-years-old) vs Tommy Morrison (24-years-old)

But this was not the case, and that makes Foreman special. Over a year later, the fresh new heavyweight champion, Michael Moorer (twenty-six years old) summoned Foreman for a title fight. It was believed that the old, washed-up fighter would be easy pickings at his advanced age. However, Foreman flipped the script. Here I pass the story to esteemed boxing trainer and historian, Teddy Atlas, a man who was there that night, sat in the opposite corner, an adversary, the trainer of the incumbent champion, Michael Moorer. Recounting the event, Atlas says:

“He got to the title fight with Michael Moorer, and he did the impossible. But it was possible. He won by tenth-round knockout. We won every minute of every round. But you know what scared the crap out of me? When he came into that arena — I was scared for the whole camp… through the whole camp, I had people saying: ‘you think he can win the fight?’ [But] he ain’t trying to a win a fight, he’s trying to win a life back. Do you understand? And when he came in that ring with the SAME TRUNKS that he wore in Zaire- Oh My God! I would never show it to my fighter, because you can’t… my heart dropped. And I said: ‘Oh my God!” because he’s facing everything he had to face. He’s ready for redemption.” -Teddy Atlas, Michael Moorer’s trainer via Vlad TV

Foreman arrived on the night wearing the same pair of boxing trunks he had worn in Kinshasa Zaire during his humiliating defeat to Muhammad Ali, the night he lost his heavyweight title. And wearing those same trunks, twenty years after his humiliating defeat, he reclaimed his position as the heavyweight champion, ten weeks before his 46th birthday, defeating an undefeated champion two decades younger than him. He won the highest title in the sport, the heavyweight championship, fifteen to twenty years past his athletic prime, following a ten-year retirement and two previous failed attempts. He shattered the previous record for the oldest to become heavyweight champion, beating Joe Walcott (thirty-seven years old), surpassing the record by eight years. A feat that has yet to be replicated.

Foreman Knocks Out Michael Moorer (1994), CLICK HERE to watch FREE

“He [George] got in that ring, and he exercised the ghosts in Zaire.” — Teddy Atlas

George proved that life doesn't end at forty. He’s the rare case, perhaps the only case, where an athlete’s crowning sporting achievement occurs in middle age. He showed the world that, there is still much life to give and much more to achieve beyond one’s twenties and thirties. There’s still time to accomplish greatness and turn things around. He symbolizes hope for those unsatisfied with life and afraid it’s too late to do anything about it. At thirty-seven, Foreman was fat, broke, and out-of-shape. At forty-six, he was the heavyweight champion of the world and a millionaire.

The American Dream

“It’s not important that I won the Heavyweight Championship, the most important thing that may be overlooked is that I was given the opportunity to fight for the title. This is a place, this is a country, where if you really believe in yourself, they’ll give you a second and third chance. I’m here as living proof that is a compassionate society that doesn’t give up on the underprivileged even when they get to be [forty-five-years-old].” — George Foreman (Nov 5th, 1994) via ESPN

On a national level, George Foreman is the embodiment of the American Dream, the fulfilment of American values: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Here is a man who started with nothing, earnt everything through grit and hard work, and achieved: wealth, prestige, a relationship with God, and a flourishing family. But his greatest achievement was his happiness, a vibrant, child-like optimism that uplifts all who witness it. He excelled in all areas he applied himself, not only as a boxer, but as a speaker, preacher, and salesman. He toiled hard, and brought back a bountiful harvest to show for it.

Via boxing, he’d sweat and bleed for his wealth and fame, until he found God. He achieved the American dream as a young man, before thirty. What’s outstanding is that he did it twice, perhaps thrice if you consider the George Foreman Grill business a separate venture. George Foreman had two championship calibre sports careers, then became the bedrock of a grilling business that earned him nine figures of fortune. Through all that time, he made sure to repay the good fortune given to him by sharing it with others.

He worked hard, and raised up those around him, benefitted the community, and earned both material and spiritual riches, enough to share around. Is there a better paragon for the ideal American life? Foreman is the finest example that comes to my mind, at least in recent memory.

Old George Foreman promoting his namesake, The George Foreman Grill

Concluding Remarks

Young George Foreman Lifting a Cow

You’ll notice that throughout this article, I have given only fleeting details of his boxing style, i.e. how he won his fights, his tactics and strategies, etc. That is because I distinguish Foreman the boxer from Foreman the man, a distinction he introduced to me when asked who was greater out of Joe Louis and Muhammed Ali.

Foreman answered that Louis was the greatest boxer of mankind, but Ali was the greatest man who ever boxed. Likewise, I consider George Foreman under both lenses, as a boxer and as a man. The young George Foreman was a devastating boxer, a force of nature with an immense physique and unstoppable punching power, he was a specimen, a monster, but he wasn’t necessarily a good or great man. But throughout his second career, things were different.

There is an old adage in sports that the boxing ring is the greatest lie detector in the world, it reveals the truth. When Foreman returned to the ring, he did not build his greatness via boxing, rather, boxing revealed the greatness within him to the wider world: the amazing grace of God, that age is a number and numbers are for accountants, that the American dream is alive and well. He was a special mentor to humanity, and these were the lessons he taught.

Rest in peace, George Edward Foreman.

My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.