Fondly known as Big George, Foreman dropped out of school as a teenager and went on to become an Olympic champion and later a legend of boxing.
He fought 81 times as a professional, winning 76, 68 of those by knockout.
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As well as boxing he put his name to the “George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine,” appearing smiling and friendly in the TV ads, becoming a celebrity outside the sport.
“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,” Foreman’s family said in a statement on Instagram.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers, and kindly ask for privacy as we honor the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own.”
Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum saluted Foreman as “one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen.”
Born in Texas on Jan. 10, 1949, Foreman grew up in Houston.
The man who raised him was frequently absent and often drunk. Foreman only found out that J. D. Foreman was not his biological father after he won the world heavyweight title when his real father, a decorated World War II veteran, got in touch.
As an adolescent, Foreman flirted with crime and left school at 16.
“At 13-years-old, George was about 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and the terrorist in the neighborhood,” his younger brother Roy told the BBC in 2024. “And when you’re bigger and stronger and think you’re better than everyone else, you take things.”
Foreman took up boxing
“I tried boxing just to show my friends that I wasn’t afraid,” Foreman said later. “Well, 25 fights and one year later, I was an Olympic gold medalist.”
At the Mexico Games in 1968, the 19-year-old Foreman bludgeoned his way to the super-heavyweight gold.
As he celebrated his final victory, 10 days after fellow African Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos had made a black power salute following the 200m track final, Foreman waved an American flag in the ring.
At 6-foot-4 (1.93m), “Big George” was larger and stronger than the other leading heavyweights of the time. He was light on his feet, but slugged his way through the professional ranks to earn a heavyweight title shot against champion Joe Frazier, demolishing the champion in two rounds.
By the time he fought his third title defense over 15 rounds against Ali in October 1974 in Kinshasa, Foreman was unbeaten in 40 professional bouts.
He had won all but three inside the distance and had not needed to develop stamina.
Ali’s “rope-a-dope” tactics exhausted the big man, who lost in eight rounds.
The defeat punctured Foreman’s intimidating aura, not least in his own mind.
“I just couldn’t believe I’d lost the world title,” he said later. “It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. It went from pride to pity. That’s devastating.”
His campaign for another title shot ended when he lost on points to another contender, Jimmy Young, in March 1977 on a hot night in Puerto Rico.
Foreman fell ill after the fight and said he sensed God telling him to change his life.
He retired aged 28 and became an ordained minister.
