Photo: Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images
George Foreman, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time heavyweight champion who also became known for his knockout success as the salesman of his eponymous grill, died “peacefully” on March 21 while “surrounded by loved ones,” his family announced in a statement posted on his Instagram account. He was 76. “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,” the statement said. “A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply respected — a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name— for his family.” No cause of death was shared, and Foreman’s family requested privacy as they “honor the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own.”
Born in 1949 in Texas, Foreman started boxing as a teenager while he was in the Jobs Corps. According to his website, he tried the sport to “show my friends that I wasn’t afraid,” only for it to end up turning into a decades-long career. He won gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics when he was 19, and went pro the following year. In 1974, he defeated Joe Frazier to become the world heavyweight champion. Foreman famously lost to Muhammad Ali in “the Rumble in the Jungle,” the 1974 fight chronicled in the Oscar-winning documentary When We Were Kings. Following a near-death experience after a match in 1977, Foreman stepped away from boxing and became a minister. He returned to the ring a decade later amid financial difficulties, eventually becoming the oldest heavyweight champ in boxing history at age 45 in 1994. That same year, he launched his George Foreman Grill, which ultimately sold more than 100 million units worldwide, according to ESPN. He retired from boxing in 1997 with 76 wins and five losses, though he stayed connected to the sport as a longtime ringside analyst for HBO.
In 2022, Foreman was accused of sexually abusing two women when they were minors in the 1970s, allegations that he denied. He made headlines later that year for appearing on The Masked Singer as the Venus Fly Trap, telling Entertainment Weekly after his elimination that he was now interested in recording music and doing more television. His life and career inspired the 2023 biopic Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World. In his Instagram bio, Foreman promoted that movie, listed a couple of his boxing achievements, and described himself as the “Happiest of All Time!”
