In Memoriam: Heavyweight champion George Foreman

George Foreman, world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist who later became a minister and an entrepreneur, has died.

He was 76.

George Foreman passing details

A post on the champions Instagram shared that he passed away Friday, Mar. 21.

“Our hearts are broken. 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,” the announcement read.

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A post shared by George Foreman (@biggeorgeforeman)

A cause of death was not provided.

Boxing career

Foreman had a profound boxing career.

Known as “Big George,” Foreman won an Olympic gold medal in boxing at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when he was 19 years old.

He won the world heavyweight championship five years later in a thrilling knockout of Joe Frazier in two rounds in 1973, but lost the title to Muhammad Ali the next year in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”

But Foreman’s work was not done and he made another effort to show why he was one of the greatest boxers of all time.

At 45, Foreman reclaimed the heavyweight title in 1994 when he beat Michael Moorer in an astounding comeback that made him the oldest boxer to win the championship.

Life after boxing for George Foreman

Foreman retired from boxing in 1977 and became a born-again Christian. He was ordained as a minister the following year and founded the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1980. In 1984, he founded the nonprofit George Foreman Youth and Community Center in Houston.

He came out of retirement again in 1987. He finally retired in 1997 at the age of 48, with a final record of 76 wins (68 knockouts) and 5 losses.

Foreman was also as a successful entrepreneur behind the “George Foreman Grill, officially known as the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine.

More than 100 million were sold worldwide, according to Foreman’s website, and he became a fixture on television programs promoting the device in an apron.

Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1949, and grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward.

He described himself on his website as going “from thug to boxer.” Foreman credited the Job Corps program, started by President Lyndon B. Johnson, with the mentoring that led him from crime to a career in boxing.

His life was also chronicled in a riveting biopic called Big George Foreman.

Foreman’s family said they were grateful to be in his extraordinary life.

“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,” the statement said.

“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.”