INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
American George Foreman, one of the great second acts in sports, who reclaimed the heavyweight boxing title at age 45 and became a
celebrated product pitchman, died on Friday at age 76.&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,& his family said in an Instagram post.An intimidating, thunderous
puncher who lost his first title to Muhammad Ali in their famous &Rumble in the Jungle& 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 Boom generation.Born in Marshall, Texas,
10, 1949, Foreman&s family soon 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.&George&s journey from the streets of Fifth Ward to boxing and business success was an inspiration,& Houston Mayor John Whitmire
said in a statement.&He never forgot where he came from … Houston will forever be proud to call George Foreman one of our own.&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 laid against the ropes and fended off Foreman&s clubbing blows, tiring him before 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 pounds (143 kg), Foreman staged an unlikely return to
the ring to raise money for a youth center 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.&(Reuters) The post Boxing legend George Foreman dies at 76 first appeared on Ariana News.
