Background

George Foreman was born on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, United States. He is a son of J. D. and Nancy Foreman. Foreman's biological father was Leroy Moorehead.

Education

Foreman became a mugger and brawler on the hard streets of Houston's Fifth Ward by age of fifteen when he dropped out of school. Luckily, he was saved by the Lyndon B. Johnson's Job Corps, a program developed to help disadvantaged kids by teaching them vocational job skills. Foreman traveled to California which is where he met Doctor Broaddus, who was a Job Corps counselor and a boxing coach. It was Broaddus who encouraged Foreman to become a boxer.

Career

George Foreman's career starts in 1968 when he went on to win a gold medal in Olympics’ Heavyweight Boxing Championship in Mexico City. It was during this time that there were riots in the United States over civil rights and Vietnam. The African-American community was still under speculation whether to support US policy or not. Many African-American athletes were publicly showing their contempt against US policy. Foreman was tempted for a while but it did not deter him from winning the medal. In 1969, Foreman decided to take up boxing professionally and went through serious and rigorous boxing training sessions. In the same year, he fought his first pro boxing match against Don Walheim in New York City. He won the match in a three-round knockout.

1969 and 1970 were glorious years in the career of Foreman as he fought 13 fights in 1969 and won all of them, and in 1970 continued winning boxing matches by knocking out 11 men in total. Despite all his wins people criticized Foreman and said that he only won these matches because he fought against the has-beens. In 1973, he silenced all the criticisms against him by fighting the ace champion Joe Frazier. In this epic match, Foreman sent Frazier twice to the mat by the end of the first round, once by lifting him off his feet. By the end of the second round, Frazier was beaten.

In 1974, Foreman escalated his success by fighting a match against the infamous heavyweight boxer Ken Norton. Ken Norton was notorious for his awkward boxing techniques and for breaking Muhammad Ali’s jaw. By the second round, Foreman had beaten Norton so badly that he wobbled on his legs in the ring and the referee had to intervene to stop the fight. This gave him a 40-0 record with 37 knockouts. In the summer of 1974, Foreman suffered his first defeat. He fought against Muhammad Ali in a match that took place in Congo. It was a tough match where both the boxers fought very hard but by the 8th round Foreman started to get tired and with Ali’s final blow to his head and jaw it was declared that Foreman has lost the match. After his first defeat, Foreman made his comeback in 1976 in Las Vegas. He fought against Ron Lyle and after the 5th round, Foreman sent Lyle to the ground and won the match. This win helped him to gain the confidence that he had lost in the match against Muhammad Ali.

In 1977, the course of Foreman’s life changed. Although he won the match against Pedro Agosto in Florida, he lost to Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico. Foreman, like his match with Ali, was tired by the second half of the fight and endured a flash knockdown at the hands of Young. It was in the dressing room after the fight with Jimmy Young that Foreman became ill and claimed to have suffered from a near-death experience. Later on, he said that it was in that moment of despair and suffering that he decided to change the ways of his life and dedicate his life to Christianity. He became a born-again Christian and stopped fighting. In the following years, he became an ordained minister in Houston, Texas and devoted his life to God and his family. He also opened a youth center and shared his Christian experiences on the television transmits like The 700 Club and the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

After 10 years of keeping himself away from the boxing ring, in 1987 Foreman declared his comeback at the age of 40, surprising everyone. Despite being out of shape, he knocked out Steve Zouski in the 4th round of the match in Sacramento, California. In 1988, he won 9 fights, notably knocking out the Cruiserweight Champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi in one of these fights.

By 1989, Foreman started using his fame to get himself more fame and became the household name by selling diverse products in the advertisements on the television. People started associating with him a friendly and smiling image in contrast to the ferocious and ominous image he had before.

In 1991, Foreman fought the heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield for the world title in a Pay Per View boxing event. Although, Foreman lasted the full 12 rounds but Holyfield proved too swift and strong for him and he lost the match. In 1993, Foreman lost the match against Tommy Morrison. Morrison was more agile and younger than Foreman and he tired him out by the 12th round. It was unlikely that Foreman would be offered to fight at another championship after he lost to Morrison but he took the case to the court pleading age discrimination and eventually won the case. In 1994, he stood against Michael Moorer in a title challenge in Las Vegas, Nevada. For the first 9 rounds, Moorer outboxed Foreman but in the 10th round he punched Moorer in the chin and he landed flat on his back. This win earned Foreman the championship that he had lost to Muhammad Ali 20 years back - the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation Heavyweight Title. In 1997, Foreman fought his last boxing match against Shannon Briggs for the right to face WBC champion, Lennox Lewis. By the 12th round, Briggs was declared as the champion and Foreman retired for good at the age of 48.

Achievements

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  George Foreman became the Heavyweight Champion twice - in 1973 and 1994, as the oldest Heavyweight Champion in boxing history at the age of forty-five. He is also widely known as a promoter of the bestselling George Foreman Grill device, allowing to get healthier grilled products.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Let George Do It!

    (With father Big George's birthday just around the corner,...)

    2005
  • George Foreman's Indoor Grilling Made Easy

    (From George Foreman, a two-time heavyweight champion of t...)

    2004
  • The George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine Cookbook

    (If you think eating low-fat food has to be boring, bring ...)

    2000
  • God in My Corner

    (The life story of George Foreman is shared in this accoun...)

    2007
  • George Foreman's Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue, and Rotisserie

    (King of the ring and king of the grill, George Foreman jo...)

    2000
  • George Foreman's Guide to Life

    (George Foreman knows what it's like to get knocked down -...)

    2003
  • George Foreman's Knock-Out-the-Fat Barbecue and Grilling Cookbook

    (For all his one-liners about big-time eating, George Fore...)

    1996
  • By George

    (George Foreman shocked the world when he regained the hea...)

    2000
  • Great Grilling Recipes! The Next Grilleration. 2004

Religion

Foreman is a devout Christian who has penned a book on his Christian views and ministers to a church in Houston, Texas. As an adult, Foreman was on a quest to find religion. He considered Islam because one of his boxing idols, Muhammad Ali, was a Muslim. Also, he looked into Buddhism because he was a fan of David Carradine - a 1970s kung fu film star.

But it wasn’t until he lost a fight against Jimmy Young in 1977 that Foreman had some sort of nervous breakdown. He says he fell to the floor and had a near-death experience, a scary, dark, lonely near-death experience. He says God spoke to him that moment, saying - "I don’t want your money, I want you." He said of the experience - "God… I don’t know… for some reason touched me, an old sinner. There is a lot of clean men out in the world doing everything right, and He showed me that there’s a living God. Since then I’ve been telling everybody! I don’t care where you come from or what you’re doing, stop it and learn about God and the Bible."

Politics

If he had to pick a party, Foreman would probably pick Democrat. His one and only financial-political contribution was to Walter Mondale for President in 1984. Also, he praised Democratic President Lyndon Johnson for his contributions to the Civil Rights movement.

Views

Quotations: "I cannot remember a time when I was not getting into fights."

"I named all my sons George Edward Foreman. And I tell people, 'If you're going to get hit as many times as I've been hit by Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield - you are not going to remember many names.'"

"If one of us goes up, then we all go up together, and if one goes down, we all go down together!"

Personality

After his religious experience, George Foreman started preaching on street corners and became a preacher at the Church of Lord Jesus Christ in Houston. He also promotes healthy food, and appear as a spokesman for a cooking grill device, which allows its customers to remove excess fat from their dishes. His way of thinking and appearance changed from a furious fighter to a friendly and peaceful priest.

Physical Characteristics: George Foreman is 195 centimeters high and has a reach of 203 centimeters. Foreman performed in the Heavyweight division, which means that at the time of his boxing career he weighed more than 91 kilograms. Back at the time, George had an Afro haircut, but his style changed after his first retirement. Today he prefers a clean-shaved skull and wears no mustache.

Interests

• Cooking

• Politicians

  Walter Mondale, Lyndon Johnson

• Sport & Clubs

  Boxing

• Athletes

  Muhamed Ali

• Music & Bands

  Blues, Tina Turner

Connections

During 1981-1983, Foreman got married and divorced thrice. It is also known that one of his wives fled to Barbados with their kids but he found them and got them back. George has 12 children, including five sons and seven daughters. He has adopted two girls, Isabella Brandie Lilia, and Courtney Isaac, in the years 2009 and 2012 respectively. He lives with his wife Mary Joan Martelly.

Mother:

Nancy Ree Nelson Foreman

stepfather:

J. D. Foreman

Wife:

Adrienne Calhoun

Adrienne Calhoun and George Foreman were married from 24 December 1971 to 13 February 1974.

Wife:

Cynthia Lewis

Cynthia Lewis and George Foreman were married from 6 October 1977 to 3 August 1979.

Wife:

Sharon Goodson

Sharon Goodson and George Foreman were married from 15 September 1981 to 23 April 1982.

Wife:

Andrea Skeete

Andrea Skeete and George Foreman were married from 28 April 1982 to 4 February 1985.

Wife:

Mary Joan

On March 27, 1985, Mary Joan married George Foreman. The marriage to Mary Joan is George’s fifth.

Son:

George Foreman Junior

George Foreman Junior continued his father's business.

Son:

George Foreman III

George Foreman III decided to be a boxer and debuted in 2009.

Son:

George Foreman IV

Son:

George Foreman V

Son:

George Foreman VI

Daughter:

Natalie Foreman-Wynn

Son:

Leola Foreman

Daughter:

Michi Foreman

Daughter:

Georgetta Foreman

Daughter:

Freeda Foreman

Freeda Foreman went father's path and started a boxer's career. She passed away in 2019 in her 42, which is believed to be a suicide.

Daughter:

Isabella Brandie Lilja-Foreman

Daughter:

Courtney Isaac-Foreman

colleague:

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan and George Foreman worked together on the promotion of the George Foreman Grill device for the Asian market.

References

• Contemporary Authors vol. 233