The Americans are known as Big George, and the U.S. race has been around for decades since the 1960s, winning gold medals and many championship belts at the Olympics, including two world heavyweight titles.
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Born on January 10, 1949, George Edward Foreman in Marshall, Texas, his amateur boxing career peaked at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he won a gold medal and won a small flag after his victory.
He said in his autobiography that he was “waving the national flag to myself and the country.”
“I let everyone know who I am and say I am proud to be American.”
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After becoming a professional in 1969, he quickly improved his ranks. By 1972, his winning streak was 37, with 35 of which being knockout matches. His first shot at the World Heavyweight Championship was in 1973, when he eliminated the then-unparalleled world champion Joe Frazier.
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The foreman won the championship at the age of 24 and successfully defended it twice.
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The foreman then lost to Muhammad Ali’s heavyweight champion in the 1974 rumbling of the jungle battle. To wear the foreman, Ali spent eight rounds leaning against the rope, a strategy he called “rope”.
He once called the loss the “most embarrassing moment” of his life.
He said: “I can’t believe I lost the world championship.
The foreman said his opponent was “the hardest man I’ve ever had.”
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A major change occurred in 1977: Shortly after losing the battle with American boxer Jimmy Young, the foreman gave up boxing and turned to religion, becoming a minister in 1978. Later, he established the George Forman Youth and Community Center and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He told the BBC that his failure to Ali became “the best thing that has ever happened” because it eventually led him to “pass my message” through preaching.
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Nearly a decade after boxing, the foreman decided to pick up the gloves in 1987 and then return to the ring to raise funds for his youth center. In his successful return to the sport, he won 24 games before losing to Evander Holyfield after 12 rounds in 1991.
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In 1994, he poked in a new business and became the face of George Fehrman’s barbecue stove – also known as the “lite grill.” In the boxing team, he also became the oldest heavyweight champion at the age of 45. Three years later, in 1997, he retired from boxing and accumulated a staggering record of 76 wins and five losses.
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The foreman has 12 children – including five sons, who were also named George. He took a photo with his son George III. He once explained that he named himself, so they “always have something in common.” According to his website, he continued to work in the church until his death, until his ministry preached four times in his ministry.
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