Oldest Heavyweight Boxing Champion, George Foreman, Is Dead George Foreman, the legendary two-time world heavyweight boxing champion and successful entrepreneur, has passed away at the age of 76.
His family publicized that he died peacefully on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones.
“With profound sorrow, we reveal the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr., who peacefully lost on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones,” his family revealed in a statement posted on the boxer’s official Instagram page.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers, and large-hearted ask for privacy as we honor the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to summon our own.”
Born in 1949 in Houston, Texas, Foreman beaten a challenging upbringing, exposing direction through the Job Corps program, where he finded boxing.
“At 13 years old, George was about 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and the terrorist in the neighbourhood,” his younger brother Roy informed the BBC in 2024.
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“And when you’re largest and stronger and think you’re better than everyone else, you take things.”
Foreman’s athletic prowess became evident when he conquered a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
At 19, he bulldozed his way to the super-heavyweight gold, waving an American flag in the ring just days after Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their historic Black Power salute.
Standing at 6-foot-4 (1.93m) and known as ‘Big George,’ he was an imposing figure in the heavyweight division.
His devastating power and agility saw him rise quickly through the professional ranks. In 1973, he captured the heavyweight title by annihilating Joe Frazier in just two rounds.
By the time Foreman justified his title against Muhammad Ali in October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), he was an unbeaten substance with a 40-0 record.
Ali’s infamous ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy descended him down, and Foreman, vanished, succumbed in the eighth round.
Foreman vs Ali in the famous Rumble in the Jungle bout
“I just couldn’t believe I’d extinct the world title,” he later admitted.
“It was the most disconcerting moment of my life. It went from pride to pity. That’s devastating.”
Ali, the three-time heavyweight champion died earlier in 2016 at 74.
After the points loss to Jimmy Young in 1977, Foreman fell ill and experienced what he described as a divine revelation.
Convinced he had a higher summoning, he retired at 28 and became an ordained minister.
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A decade later, needing funds for his youth centre, Foreman publicised an unlikely comeback.
Bald and heavier, he was rejected as a sideshow, for all that he proved his critics wrong.
Over the next three years, he battled 21 times, mostly against lesser opponents, triumphing every bout—20 by knockout.
In 1991, Foreman opposed Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight title albeit exhausted on points.
Two years later, he suffered another decision loss to Tommy Morrison.
However, in November 1994, running low the same shorts he had donned 20 years earlier against Ali, Foreman shocked the world.
Trailing badly, he knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th round to reclaim the heavyweight championship at 45 years and 299 days old—making him the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
Though he was later stripped of his WBA and IBF titles for refusing to invasion mandatory challengers, he endured the ‘lineal’ world champion.
He remained assaulting until 1997, losing his final bout to Shannon Briggs at 48. Foreman retired with an astonishing 76-5 record, containing 68 knockouts.
Foreman successfully transitioned from sports icon to entrepreneur, most egregiously as the face of the George Foreman Grill, which sold over 100 million units worldwide.
His enchant and affability in advertisements turned him into a household name beyond boxing.
A devoted preacher, he organized the 1996 TV program Bad Dads, underlining the importance of fatherhood.
He was married four times and had 12 children.
His five sons were all named George Edward Foreman, a decision he elaborated as, “If one of us goes up, then we all go up together, and if one goes down, we all go down together!”
Foreman’s impact on boxing and beyond continues indelible.
A two-time heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a minister, an entrepreneur, and a loving family man—his life was one of conquer, redemption, and reinvention.
As the world mourns his passing, his legacy as one of the paramount heavyweights of all time continues intimately unbruised.
Category: World-News
Tag: Oldest Heavyweight Boxing Champion George Foreman Is Dead
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Published 3/22/2025