George Foreman

Eminent boxer and entrepreneur, George Foreman is one of the most well-known figures in sports history.

George Edward Foreman was born January 10, 1949 in Marshall, Texas. Raised by JB Foreman and his mother, Foreman’s biological father was not in the picture. Running into legal troubles from an early age, Foreman participated in gang fights and street brawls, quickly proving he was a formidable fighter.

Drinking and fighting, Foreman decided to change his life. To that end, he joined the Job Corps. He was stationed in Oregon, but the attitude followed him, picking fights with fellow trainees. Luckily for Foreman, his fighting was a marketable skill. Introduced to the world of legal boxing, by age nineteen, he took gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. While other African American athletes such as Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested the games and criticized Foreman for participating, others regarded him as a patriotic emblem.

By 1969, Foreman turned professional. He won all his fights for the next two years, including one particularly grueling match against George Chuvalo. And the wins just kept coming.

With his impressive undefeated streak, Foreman was set to fight the heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. In a now famous battle, Foreman was declared the winner, taking down the previously undisputed world champ. Appearing aloof to the media and ruthless in the ring, Foreman later admitted his rage during this time, stating he truly wished to kill a man in the ring.

It wasn’t until Foreman’s historic 1974 match-up with boxing great Muhammad Ali that Foreman finally lost a match. Ali remains the only boxer to ever beat Foreman by knockout.

Foreman didn’t fight for the entirety of 1975. His comeback came in 1976 against Ron Lyle in a heated, brutal match eventually going Foreman’s way. It was 1977, however, that would really mark a turning point for Foreman. In a surprise loss to Jimmy Young, Foreman became ill later in the night. In what Foreman describes as a near death experience, he felt God’s presence and his pleading for Foreman to change his ways. Foreman became a born-again Christian, quit fighting, became an ordained minister, and opened a youth center.

But he wasn’t done with the ring yet. After ten years away from the sport, at age thirty-eight, Foreman fought and won. And he continued to fight and win. While he eventually lost to Evander Holyfield, the forty-two year old Foreman went the full twelve rounds and lost only on points.

In a surprise move, Foreman expressed his desire to fight Michael Moorer for the world title. When he was denied, he even took the case to court for age discrimination. Winning the trial, he went on to take the match as well. He continued to fight until his second retirement at the age of forty-eight.

Outside the ring, Foreman became a friendly personality as opposed to his former hard, elusive persona. He became the spokesman for everything from Meineke mufflers to his hugely popular George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine. He appeared in a short-lived sitcom in 1993 entitled George as well as lending himself to American Inventor and potentially Donald Trump’s The Apprentice 7.

Foreman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

In his personal life, Foreman has been married five times. The first marriage was to Adrienne Calhoun from 1971 to 1974 with two children. His marriage to Cynthia Lewis lasted two years, and his subsequent marriage to Sharon Goodson lasted just under one year. From 1982 to 1985, he was married to Andrea Skeete, and they also had two children. His fifth marriage to Mary Joan Martelly has proved more successful. They have six children and have been married since 1985.