He was in the center of two of the greatest sporting events of the 20th century.
Against all odds, Foreman returned to boxing after a ten-year retirement and won the heavyweight championship at age 45. It rivaled such events as the Miracle on Ice as the least likely sports achievement of the century.
21 years earlier, he had won the heavyweight belt for the first time by defeating Joe Frazier. He then lost that belt to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle,” perhaps the most famous fight in history, and considered by many to be the greatest sporting event of the 20th century. Neither man had ever been knocked out. Foreman had never lost at all, having entered that fight with a 40-0 record. Ali came in 43-2, having lost once to Frazier and once to Ken Norton, both on decisions.
(Ali won the Rumble on a KO in the 8th to hand Foreman his first loss, and thus regain the heavyweight belt.)
RIP George. Ya did good.
R.I.P. George and thank you for stealing that grill from that racist schill Cunt Hogan.
I still love my Foreman grill… Watched the rumble in the jungle as a kid- awesome fight. Damn- I’m OLD!
I remember in the early 80’s Muhammad Ali got on a passenger plane, and when the steweadess told him to fasten his safety belt, he said “Superman don’t need no safety belt!”… She said back “Superman don’t need no airplane either!” He shut up and buckled in…
Trust me on this – don’t fuck with a professional woman.
As a youngster, Foreman was sullen and kind of unlikeable. Sometime after he lost the Rumble in the Jungle, he found religion, he became the affable guy most people remember.
ALso, he named his sons George, George, George, George, and George.