George Foreman: Former heavyweight champion dies aged 76
George Foreman, the boxing world champion who became a celebrated product pitchman, has died at age 76, his family said in a statement.
The American was two-time heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medallist. His fight against Muhammad Ali in Zaire – known as the Rumble in the Jungle – is part of boxing legend.
In later years he became the spokesperson for the George Foreman Grill, which sold millions of units.
His family posted on Friday on his official Instagram account: “Our hearts are broken. With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr. who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by loved ones.
“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.”
An intimidating, thunderous puncher who lost his first title to Ali in in 1974, “Big George” was a more rotund, jovial figure when he knocked out Michael Moorer for his second crown two decades later.
Foreman’s comeback and the fortune he made selling fat-wicking electric cooking grills made him an icon of self-improvement and success for the baby boomer generation.
Soon after his birth in Marshall, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1949, his family moved to Houston where he and his six siblings were raised by a single mother. Growing up poor in the segregated American South, Foreman dropped out of junior high school and used his size and fists in street robberies.
The Job Corps, part of President Lyndon B Johnson’s “Great Society” reforms, “rescued me from the gutter,” Foreman later wrote. Through the program, 16-year-old Foreman moved out of Texas and was encouraged to channel his rage and growing bulk into boxing.
At age 19 and in his 25th amateur fight, Foreman captured the heavyweight boxing gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Turning pro, he won 37 straight matches on his way to face reigning champion Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, winning by technical knockout in round two.
Foreman defended the belt twice more before meeting Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in one of the most celebrated boxing matches in history.
Ali had been stripped of his crown seven years prior for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War and came into the match a heavy underdog against the bigger, younger champion. But for seven rounds, Ali lay against the ropes and fended off Foreman’s clubbing blows, tiring and knocking him out in the eighth round.
“I was one strong heavyweight punching fighter,” Foreman told Reuters in 2007. “I was one punching machine, and that was the first time I delivered everything I had and nothing worked.”
The loss devastated Foreman. He took a year off before returning to the ring and then, after a second professional loss, retired in 1977 to become an ordained minister in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A decade later and considerably heavier at 315 lbs (143 kg), Foreman staged an unlikely return to the ring to raise money for a youth centre he founded in Texas.
He went on to win 24 straight matches, gradually slimming along the way, before losing to Evander Holyfield in a 12-round decision in 1991. Three years later, he knocked out undefeated southpaw Moorer to become the oldest ever heavyweight champion at age 45.
Foreman’s last match was in 1997, ending his career with a professional record of 76 wins and five losses.
Foreman was married four times in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he married for the fifth time to Mary Joan Martelly, with whom he remained for the rest of his life. He had five sons - all called George - five biological daughters, and two adopted daughters.
Throughout the 1990s and after retirement, he was an enthusiastic pitchman for various products, most notably an electric grill from home appliance maker Salton Inc. In 1999, the company paid Foreman and his partners $137.5 million to put his name on the grill and other goods.
“What I do is fall in love with every product I sell,” Foreman wrote in his autobiography, “By George.” “That’s what sells. Just like with preaching.”
Topics
-
George Foreman, heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 76
George Foreman, world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist who later became an entrepreneur known for the indoor grills that bore his name, died Friday at 76.NBC News - 7h -
Heavyweight boxing great George Foreman dead at 76
Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who lost to Muhammad Ali in boxing's iconic 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" before reclaiming the title two decades later, died Friday aged 76, his family ...Yahoo Sports - 3h -
Boxing champ George Foreman dies at age 76
Known as “Big George”, Foreman was a world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist. He passed away at age 76.NBC News - 4h -
Two-time heavyweight George Foreman dies at 76
George Foreman, a two-time heavyweight champion, the second time at age 45, died Friday in his hometown Houston, his family said. He was 76.Yahoo Sports - 4h -
George Foreman, boxing champion and entrepreneur, dies aged 76
The death of the heavyweight champion boxer was announced by his family in a post on Instagram. Mike Tyson, sports stars and more pay tribute to boxing great George Foreman – a life in ...The Guardian - 6h -
George Foreman Dies: 2x Heavyweight Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist & Entrepreneur Was 76
George Foreman, the boxing champ and George Foreman Grill mogul, has died. He was 76. The 2x world heavyweight champion, who was known as Big George Foreman, “peacefully” died on Friday “surrounded ...Yahoo Sports - 6h -
Boxing heavyweight champ George Foreman dies at 76
Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, known as much for his gregarious personality as his vicious right hook, died Friday. He was 76 years old.ABC News - 6h -
George Foreman, former heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 76
The two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist died on Friday, his family announced in a statement.Yahoo Sports - 7h -
George Foreman, former heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 76
The two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist died on Friday, his family announced in a statement.Yahoo Sports - 6h
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Could Boston Celtics point guard Derrick White finish his NBA career a Hall of Famer?
What else would he need to do to make it?Yahoo Sports - 26m -
“I felt that I could improve” – Cucurella reveals aspect of his game he’s “very happy” to have improved
Marc Cucurella is happy he’s added goals to his game as he felt that’s one of the main things he needed to improve on.Cucurella is having a brilliant season for the Blues and has established himse...Yahoo Sports - 28m -
Piastri takes pole position at Chinese GP ahead of Russell, Hamilton fifth
Oscar Piastri claimed pole position for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix as Mercedes’ George Russell brilliantly managed to insert himself between the two McLarens in Shanghai.Yahoo Sports - 30m -
NFL draft prospect ranks Commanders' Terry McLaurin as a top 3 wide receiver
One NFL draft prospect says Commanders WR Terry McLaurin is one of the league's three best wide receivers.Yahoo Sports - 37m -
Bid prepared: Man United looking to get ahead of Tottenham in race for £50m transfer
Manchester United are reportedly ready to spend £50million on the potential transfer of Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.According to a report from Fichajes, the Red Devils are ...Yahoo Sports - 40m
More in Sports
-
Could Boston Celtics point guard Derrick White finish his NBA career a Hall of Famer?
What else would he need to do to make it?Yahoo Sports - 26m -
“I felt that I could improve” – Cucurella reveals aspect of his game he’s “very happy” to have improved
Marc Cucurella is happy he’s added goals to his game as he felt that’s one of the main things he needed to improve on.Cucurella is having a brilliant season for the Blues and has established himse...Yahoo Sports - 28m -
Piastri takes pole position at Chinese GP ahead of Russell, Hamilton fifth
Oscar Piastri claimed pole position for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix as Mercedes’ George Russell brilliantly managed to insert himself between the two McLarens in Shanghai.Yahoo Sports - 30m -
NFL draft prospect ranks Commanders' Terry McLaurin as a top 3 wide receiver
One NFL draft prospect says Commanders WR Terry McLaurin is one of the league's three best wide receivers.Yahoo Sports - 37m -
Bid prepared: Man United looking to get ahead of Tottenham in race for £50m transfer
Manchester United are reportedly ready to spend £50million on the potential transfer of Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.According to a report from Fichajes, the Red Devils are ...Yahoo Sports - 40m