Boxing champion and businessman George Foreman has died at 76.
Foreman’s household introduced the information on Instagram on Friday, March 21. “Our hearts are damaged,” they wrote on a publish on Foreman’s account. “With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr., who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by family members. A religious preacher, a loyal husband, a loving father, and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering religion, humility, and goal.”
Foreman’s brother Ray stated the reason for dying was not identified, in response to The New York Occasions.
“A humanitarian, an Olympian, and [a] two-time heavyweight champion of the world, he was deeply revered — a pressure for good, a person of self-discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, preventing tirelessly to protect his good identify — for his household,” the Instagram assertion continued. “We’re grateful for the outpouring of affection and prayers, and kindly ask for privateness as we honor the extraordinary lifetime of a person we had been blessed to name our personal.”
Foreman was born on January 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas, per the Occasions. He grew to become a boxer at age 17 and have become an Olympic heavyweight champion only a yr and a half later on the 1968 Summer season Olympics in Mexico Metropolis, knocking out Soviet competitor Ionas Chepulis within the second spherical.
He grew to become a world heavyweight champion by defeating Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1973, however he misplaced the title to Muhammad Ali within the “Rumble within the Jungle” in Zaire the next yr. It was Foreman’s first skilled loss.
After retiring at age 28 and grow to be a nondenominational Christian minister, Foreman bought again within the ring and ultimately reclaimed his former title in a 1994 bout towards Michael Moorer — changing into the oldest-ever heavyweight champion on the time — earlier than retiring from boxing for good in 1997.
The identical yr as his Moorer battle, Foreman pivoted to enterprise and began endorsing a hamburger grill named after himself. In different ventures, Foreman starred within the ABC sitcom George in 1993, served as ringside analyst for HBO Sports activities for 12 years, and competed on Fox’s The Masked Singer in 2022.
Mike Tyson, one other heavyweight champ, despatched condolences to Foreman’s household in an X publish on Friday, writing, “His contribution to boxing and past won’t ever be forgotten.”
Mauricio Sulaimán, president of the World Boxing Council president, additionally paid tribute to Foreman in an X publish, writing that Foreman was a “legendary boxing champion, life-changing preacher, husband, father, grand and great-grandfather, and the most effective pal you could possibly have.”
In an Instagram assertion, the boxing promotional firm High Rank known as Foreman “one of many largest punchers and personalities the game has ever seen.”
And Jim Lampley, a sportscaster who labored alongside the previous boxer at HBO Sports activities, stated Foreman was “a fantastic fighter and a far, far better human being,” per ESPN.
“Each great point that ever occurred to him, and there have been many extraordinary blessings, was hard-earned,” Lampley added.