George Foreman

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George Foreman
Statistics
Real name	George Edward Foreman
Nickname	"Big George"
Weight	Heavyweight
Nationality	American
Birth date	January 10, 1949
Birth place	Marshall, Texas, USA
Style	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	81
Wins	76
Wins by KO	68
Losses	5
Draws	0
No contests	0

George Foreman, born (January 10, 1949) is an American two-time World boxing Champion in the heavyweight division. Nicknamed Big George, he is now a successful businessman and an ordained Christian minister.

Contents 1 General information 2 Early years and amateur career 3 Professional career 3.1 Retirement 3.2 Comeback 3.3 Regaining the heavyweight titles 3.4 Second retirement 4 The George Foreman Grill and other business ventures 5 Hall of Fame 6 Notes 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] General information

According to an ESPN "SportsCentury" profile, George's massive size and height (6 ft 4 in) in relation to that of his brothers led to the revelation that he was illegitimate. His biological father took no part in his upbringing. He has married 5 times and has 10 children (5 daughters and 5 sons) from 3 of those marriages. He and his current wife, Mary Joan, (with whom he has 4 of his children,) have been married since 1985. He has named all 5 sons "George Edward Foreman," because he "wants them to know who their father is," something that is very important to Foreman, as he learned the identity of his own biological father later in life (although he often jokes that he names everyone "George" because he's been punched in the head so many times that his memory is spotty). He has named one of his daughters Georgetta.

[edit] Early years and amateur career

Olympic medal record
Boxing
Gold	1968 Mexico City	Heavyweight

Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas. During his youth, he was often in trouble with the law. He joined the Job Corps to do something better with his life. While stationed in Oregon, Foreman became infamous for his belligerent attitude, often picking fights with his fellow trainees. By the age of 19 he had won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. When he held an American flag in his hand as he stood on the victor's stand, a few members of the black community chastised him for being an Uncle Tom. Others, especially the conservative community, championed him for being a patriotic American during a time of political upheaval and strife in America. In his autobiography, Foreman himself states that he got a postcard from one man, who championed him for "returning pride to this country that Jackie Onassis took away" (this is in reference to her marrying Aristotle Onassis after John Kennedy's death).

[edit] Professional career

Foreman turned professional in 1969 with a three round knockout of Donald Walheim in New York. He had a total of 13 fights that year, winning all, 11 by knockout. Among the fighters he defeated was Cookie Wallace, who lasted only twenty-three seconds.

In 1970, Foreman continued rolling on, winning all 12 bouts, all except one by knockout. Among the opponents he beat were Gregorio Peralta, who he decisioned at the Madison Square Garden, and George Chuvalo. Chuvalo is remembered as one of the toughest fighters in heavyweight history, and was never knocked down in a professional career spanning over ninety bouts. Even Foreman could not manage to knock him off his feet. Foreman did, however, administer a brutal beating to Chuvalo, and was declared the winner by TKO in three rounds. After this impressive win, Foreman defeated Charlie Polite in four rounds, and Boone Kirkman in three.

In 1971, Foreman won seven more fights, including a rematch with Peralta, whom he defeated by knockout in the tenth and last round in Oakland, California and a win over Leroy Caldwell, who went in the second. After amassing a record of 32-0, Foreman was ranked as the number one challenger by the WBA and WBC.

In 1972, his string of wins continued, winning five bouts in a row, all within three rounds.

With that, Foreman was set to challenge for the world's Heavyweight championship. On January 22, 1973, Foreman faced undefeated world Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, knocking him down no less than six times in two rounds and knocking him out in the second round in one of boxing history's biggest upsets to become the world champion. In what was HBO Boxing's first transmission ever, the call made by Howard Cosell, the broadcaster that night ("Down goes Frazier!, Down goes Frazier!, Down goes Frazier!") became one of the most memorable sports calls of all time. Equally memorable was Foreman's final punch, an uppercut landed with such force that it lifted Frazier off his feet before sending him to the canvas. As he had done following the five previous knockdowns, Frazier got up, but this time the referee sensibly stepped in to end the slaughter.

Foreman was sometimes characterized by the media as an aloof and anti-social champion. According to them, he always seemed to wear a sneer in his face during this time, and was at times not available to the press.

Nevertheless, Foreman went on to defend his title successfully twice during this reign. His first defense, in Tokyo, pitted him against Puerto Rican Heavyweight champion Jose Roman. Roman was not regarded as a top contender, and sure enough it took Foreman only 55 seconds to destroy him, the fastest ever knockout for a heavyweight championship bout. Foreman's next defense, on paper, was a much tougher assignment. In 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela, he faced the highly regarded Ken Norton, a boxer notorious for his awkward boxing style, who had previously broken the jaw of Muhammad Ali, beating him on points in the process a year earlier. Norton's chin, however, was not sturdy, and against Foreman, this proved to be a fatal flaw. In an astonishing display of aggression and punching power, Foreman flattened Norton in just two rounds. Foreman would later state in his autobiography that he was attempting to kill Norton in the ring.

Around this time, Foreman was widely considered to be the most physically empowered specimen and arguably the hardest hitter in the history of the sport. At this point many considered him to be the greatest heavyweight in the world.

His next defense was nothing short of historic: During the late summer of 1974, Foreman moved to Congo (then Zaire), where he would defend against Muhammad Ali, in what became known as The Rumble in the Jungle. During training there, he suffered a cut above his eye while training, forcing the fight to be postponed for one more month. Ali dedicated this month to endear himself to the public of Zaire, and taunt Foreman at every possible stop, making Foreman very angry and frustrated.

When the month long delay had elapsed, Ali and Foreman finally met face to face in the ring. In the first round, Ali started on his toes, dancing around as advertised. Such was the intensity of Foreman's attack, though, that he was soon driven into the ropes. Foreman dug viciously hard body punches into Ali's sides. However, when aiming for Ali's head, it quickly became clear that Foreman was struggling to land a clean punch. The ring ropes were looser than normal, allowing Ali to sway away from Foreman's wild swings, and then maul him in a clinch, forcing Foreman to expend extra energy untangling himself. Had all Ali's talk of using speed and movement against Foreman been a trick? Or were his use of the ropes an improvisation necessitated by Foreman's constant pressure? Whether pre-meditated or spontaneous, it was here that the "Rope-a-dope" was born. Ali countered off the ropes with sharp, snapping blows to the face, and even as early as the first round, he was able to penetrate Foreman's leaky defense almost at will. As the early rounds passed, Ali continued to take heavy punishment to the body, and occasionally a hard swing around the head, but Foreman could not land his best punches directly on Ali's chin. Ali twisted and turned on the ropes, holding, pushing Foreman off, then firing short flurries when George was least expecting them. Then, Foreman began to tire. His punches became increasingly ragged, losing their former bludgeoning power. Ali taunted Foreman by saying: "That's it George? They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis!" By the eighth round, Ali was clearly in control of the fight, but continued to ration his punches and remain on the ropes. Then, in the eighth, Ali sprang off the ropes with a sudden flurry of blows, punctuated by a hard right flush on Foreman's jaw. Foreman staggered, lurched over, then finally collapsed, overcome as much by exhaustion as Ali's power. He managed to regain his feet, but the referee stopped the bout. It was Foreman's first defeat, and Muhammad Ali would remain the only boxer to defeat him by KO.

Bitter in defeat, Foreman made many excuses after the fight, ranging from being drugged, to the ropes being loosened, to being distracted by a disloyal friend in the audience. To this day, however, no solid evidence regarding any impropriety has been brought forward. Foreman had been legitimately beaten by a great champion.

He spent 1975 inactive, but in 1976, he returned to boxing, in Las Vegas. He boxed Ron Lyle, in a fight hailed by Ring Magazine as "The Fight Of The Year." At the end of the first round, Lyle landed a hard right that sent Foreman staggering across the ring. In the second round, Foreman pounded Lyle against the ropes, and might have scored a KO, but due to a timekeeping error the bell rang with a minute left in the round, and Lyle survived. In the third, Foreman pressed forward, with Lyle waiting to counter off the ropes. In the fourth, a brutal slugfest erupted. A cluster of power punches from Lyle sent Foreman to the canvas. When Foreman got up, Lyle staggered him again, but just as Foreman seemed finished he retaliated with a hard right to the side of the head, knocking Lyle down. Lyle beat the count, then landed another brutal combination, knocking Foreman down for the second time. Again, Foreman beat the count. In the fifth round, both fighters continued to ignore defense and trade their hardest punches. Each man staggered the other, and both seemed almost out on their feet. Then, as if finally exhausted, Lyle stopped punching, and Foreman rained close to a dozen blows on him until Lyle collapsed. Unable to continue, the fight was stopped, and Foreman was declared the winner.

For his next match, Foreman chose to face Joe Frazier in a rematch. Frazier had taken a tremendous amount of punishment from Ali in Manila a year earlier, and due to cataract problems was now legally blind in one eye, and had to wear contact lenses in order to fight. As a result, and also due to the fearful beating he had taken from Foreman in the first match, almost no one expected Frazier to win. Surprisingly, Foreman-Frazier II was fairly competitive, as Frazier repeatedly made Foreman miss with clever head movement. He could mount little offense of his own, though, and Foreman scored two knockdowns to overwhelm him in the fifth round. Next, Foreman KO'd Scott Ledoux in three and Dino Dennis in four to finish the year.

[edit] Retirement

1977 would prove to be a life changing year for Foreman. After knocking out Pedro Agosto in four rounds at Pensacola, Florida, Foreman flew to Puerto Rico, where he lost a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young. Foreman fought extremely cautiously early on, costing himself points, but as in the Ali fight he tired in the later rounds. Despite nearly scoring a KO himself at one point, Foreman could not mount a sustained attack on the elusive Young, who knocked Foreman down in the last round to secure the victory. Foreman became very ill in his dressing room after the fight. He was suffering from exhaustion and heatstroke and believed he had had a near death experience. He claimed he found himself in a hellish, frightening place of nothingness and despair. He began to plead with God to help him. He explained that he sensed God asking him to change his life and ways. After this experience, Foreman became a born-again Christian, dedicating his life for the next decade to Christianity. Foreman retired from boxing, and became an ordained minister of a church in Texas. He devoted himself to his family and his parishioners. He also opened a youth center which bears his name.

[edit] Comeback

In 1987, after 10 years away from the ring, he surprised the boxing world by announcing a comeback at the age of 38. For his first fight back, he went to Sacramento, California, where he beat journeyman Steve Zouski by a knockout in four rounds. Foreman weighed nearly 270lbs for the fight, and looked blubbery and badly out of shape. Many thought that his decision to return to the ring was a big mistake, but Foreman countered that he had returned to prove that age was not a barrier to people achieving their goals. He won four more bouts that year, gradually slimming down and improving his fitness. In 1988, he won nine times, and a clear trend began to emerge. None of his opponents were rated contenders, and most were no better than crude clubfighters. Perhaps his most notable win during this period was a seventh round knockout over faded, overweight former Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

Having always been a slow, lumbering fighter, Foreman had not lost much quickness in the ring since his first retirement, although he now found it harder to keep his balance after throwing big punches, and took longer to steady himself. He was still capable of landing heavy, clubbing blows, of course. Remarkably, the late rounds fatigue that had plagued him in the ring as a young man now seemed to be gone, and he could comfortably compete over 12 rounds. Foreman attributed this to his new, relaxed fighting style - he has spoken of how, earlier in his career, his lack of stamina came from an enormous amount of nervous tension that he felt when boxing.

By 1989, Foreman had become a successful business entrepreneur, selling everything from hamburgers to mufflers on TV. The formerly aloof, unfriendly Foreman had been replaced by a smiling, friendly George. He and Ali had become very good friends, and he followed in his former rival and friend's footsteps by making himself a celebrity outside the boundaries of boxing.

Foreman continued his winning ways, winning five more fights, mainly against low level opposition, although he did score a 3-round win over Bert Cooper, a moderately talented fighter who would go on to contest the undisputed heavyweight title against Evander Holyfield.

In 1990, Foreman met former title challenger Gerry Cooney. Cooney was coming off a long period of inactivity, and was known to have a weak chin, but his impressive punching power was enough to convince a lot of fight fans that Foreman was fighting a genuinely dangerous opponent for the first time since his comeback began. Sure enough, Cooney wobbled Big George in the first round, but when Foreman landed cleanly in the second, Cooney froze on his feet. Seconds later, he was knocked down twice, and Foreman had scored one of the most devastating knockouts in heavyweight history. Suddenly, some fans began taking Foreman's comeback seriously. He went on to win four more fights that year.

Then, in 1991, despite having beaten no highly rated contenders since his return, Foreman was given the opportunity to challenge undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield for the world title in a Pay Per View boxing event. Very few boxing experts gave the 42 year old Foreman a chance of winning. He marched forwards from the start, absorbing several of Holyfield's best combinations and occasionally landing a powerful swing of his own. Holyfield proved too tough to knock down, and was well ahead on points throughout the fight, but George surprised many by lasting the full twelve rounds, before conceding defeat on points. Round 7 was Ring Magazine's Round Of The Year. Once the fight was finished Foreman told reporters half of his dream had been completed, by showing the world people can go the full 12 rounds after reaching their forties. He had lost the fight, but gained respect for a valiant effort.

A year later, Foreman fought journeyman Alex Stewart, who had previously been stopped in the first round by Mike Tyson. Foreman knocked Stewart down twice in the second round, but expended a lot of energy in doing so. He subsequently tired, and Stewart rebounded to administer the worst beating of Foreman's career. By the end of the 10th and final round, Foreman's face was bloodied and swollen almost beyond recognition, but the judges felt he had done enough, and awarded him a majority decision win. Many urged George to retire after this match, but he refused.

In 1993, Foreman was again the questionable recipient of a title shot, although this was for the vacant WBO championship, which at the time most fight fans saw as a pale imitation of the "real" heavyweight title then contested between Holyfield and Riddick Bowe. Foreman's opponent was Tommy Morrison, a young prospect known for his ferocious punching power. To the frustration of Foreman, and the disgust of the crowd in attendance, Morrison retreated throughout the fight, refusing to trade toe-to-toe, and sometimes even turning his back on Foreman. The strategy paid off, however, as he outboxed Foreman from long range. The fight was close, but after twelve rounds Morrison won a unanimous decision. Though it would have been unthinkable at the time, for Foreman, one more chance at the legitimate heavyweight crown was just around the corner.

[edit] Regaining the heavyweight titles

In 1994, Foreman once again sought to challenge for the world championship, after Michael Moorer had beaten Holyfield for the IBF and WBA titles. Naturally, he was initially refused a title shot, due to his recent loss to Morrison. Using extraordinary political guile, Foreman took the matter to court, pleading age discrimination. He won the case, and one last shot at the title. The fight took place on November 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. As he was against Holyfield, Foreman was a big underdog. For nine rounds, Moorer easily outboxed him, hitting and moving away, while Foreman chugged forward, unable to pull the trigger on his punches. Entering the tenth round, Foreman was trailing on all scorecards. Then, suddenly, a right hand caught Moorer on the tip of his chin, and he collapsed to the canvas. Just like that, Foreman had become champion again. In wonder and disbelief, he padded back to his corner, and knelt in prayer as the arena erupted with cheers around him. With this historic victory, Foreman broke two records: He became, at the age of 45, the oldest fighter ever to win the world Heavyweight crown, and, 20 years after losing his world title for the first time, he broke the record for the fighter with the most time in between one world championship run and the next.

Shortly after the Moorer fight, Foreman began talking about a potential superfight against Mike Tyson. The WBA organization, however, demanded he fight their No. 1 challenger, who at the time was the competent but aging Tony Tucker. For reasons not clearly known, Foreman refused to fight Tucker, and allowed the WBA to strip him of their belt. He then went on to fight mid-level prospect Axel Schulz of Germany in defense of his IBF title. Schulz was a massive underdog, but the experts who dismissed him as a no-hoper did not take into account his toughness and mobility. Foreman was pushed to the limit before being awarded a controversial majority decision. The IBF ordered an immediate rematch to be held in Germany. Foreman refused to travel to Germany, and found himself stripped of his remaining title. After this, interest in Foreman-Tyson faded away, and all too quickly the glory of Foreman's title win seemed to fade as well.

In 1996, Foreman returned to Tokyo, scoring an easy win over the unknown, unrated Crawford Grimsley by a 12-round decision. In 1997, he faced fringe contender Lou Savarese winning by decision in a grueling, highly competitive encounter. Then, surprisingly, another career lifeline came George's way. The WBC decided to match him against Shannon Briggs with a title shot against WBC champion Lennox Lewis awaiting the winner. In this fight, Foreman delivered arguably his best performance in years, walking Briggs down and consistently rattling him with big punches. After 12 rounds, once again there was a controversial majority decision. This time, Foreman was perceived to be the victim - and not the beneficiary - of poor judging, and Briggs was announced the winner. In defeat, Foreman was gracious and philosophical. Immediately afterwards, he announced his retirement.

[edit] Second retirement

Foreman planned to box a return bout against Larry Holmes in 1999. The bout was scheduled to take place at the Houston Astrodome on pay per view. The fight was to be billed as "The Birthday Bash" due to both fighters' upcoming birthdays. Foreman was set to make 10 million dollars and Holmes was to make 4 million dollars. However, negotiations fell through and the fight was cancelled. Immediately after the cancellation of the bout, Foreman said he had no plans to resume his career as a boxer. He announced in February 2004 he was training for one comeback fight, but his plans were stopped by his wife.

[edit] The George Foreman Grill and other business ventures

Apart from his advertisements for Meineke mufflers, Foreman also tours the world promoting his George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine. Foreman has made more money from his grilling machine contracts than he made during his entire boxing career. He has also suggested that he's better known for the grill than he is for his boxing. ^[1]

The grill has become world famous as a fat reducing inexpensive fast cooking household item. The grill slogan is "knock out the fat " (even though the makers of Foreman's grill have shown no evidence that using the grill significantly reduces the fat content of foods over normal grilling methods.) Since it was first sold in 1995, more than 55 million grills have been purchased. Foreman has made more than $150 million from the sales of his grills.

Foreman won't say how much he has made as a product endorser, but he doesn't dispute a published estimate that his lifetime earnings are about $240 million - three times what he earned in the ring. In 1999, Salton Inc. bought the rights to use his name and selling skills in perpetuity for $127.5 million in cash and $10 million in stock. It stands as one of the biggest endorsement deals for any athlete. Under the original 1995 deal, Foreman had a right to about 40% of the profits from the grills, which range in price from $20 to $150. At the height of its success, Foreman received $4.5 million a month in payouts, says Salton CEO Leonhard Dreimann. But in the past few years, consumers have put off replacing their old Foreman grills, and Salton has struggled: It reported a loss of $3.2 million on sales of $274 million in its most recent quarter.

In 2004 Foreman began marketing the George Foreman brand of "Big and Tall" clothes through the retailer Casual Male. His clothing features "comfort zone" technology which expands and contracts as the wearer's weight fluctuates.

In 2007 Foreman will appear as a judge for the second season of American Inventor.

[edit] Hall of Fame

In January 2003, Foreman was elected to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, where he was inducted in June. That same year, he was named boxing's ninth greatest puncher of all time by Ring Magazine (see Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time).

[edit] Notes

1. ^ The Motley Fool Radio Show, April 3, 2006 [1]

[edit] See also

• List of heavyweight boxing champions
• List of male boxers
• List of WBC world champions
• Notable boxing families

[edit] External links

• George Foreman's career boxing record
• George Foreman's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Rumble In The Jungle Boxing Review
• [2] at IMDb
• [3]at Tv.com

Preceded by Joe Frazier	Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA, WBC) 1973–1974	Succeeded by Muhammad Ali
Preceded by Michael Moorer	IBF Heavyweight Champion 1994–1995	Succeeded by Francois Botha
	WBA Heavyweight Champion 1994–1995	Succeeded by Bruce Seldon

Persondata
NAME	Foreman, George Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Big George (nickname)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American boxer
DATE OF BIRTH	January 10, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH	Marshall, Texas, USA
DATE OF DEATH	living
PLACE OF DEATH