George Foreman Dead at 76

Boxing legend George Foreman has died. According to TMZ, the heavyweight champion’s family announced that he has passed away at 76 years old.

Born on Jan. 10, 1949, Foreman competed in boxing between 1967 and 1997. He won the Olympic Gold Medal for Heavyweight at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose,” his family said. “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. 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.”

Foreman was nicknamed “Big George” and was a two-time world Heavyweight champion. While he initially retired in 1977, he returned to the game 10 years later and won the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal heavyweight championship titles after knocking out Michael Moorer at 45 years old. After becoming the oldest world heavyweight champion in history at 46, Foreman retired in 1997 when he was 48, ending his boxing career with 76 wins and only five losses. He went up against some boxing greats, such as Muhammed Ali, who delivered his first professional loss in 1974.

Boxing is not all that Foreman is known for. In 1994, he came out with the George Foreman Grill, selling over 100 million worldwide since its launch. He’s also been open about being a born again Christian and became a pastor in 1980, later opening the George Foreman Youth and Community Center in Houston. Additionally, Foreman competed in Season 8 of The Masked Singer in 2022 as Venus Fly Trap but was eliminated by Episode 7 during round three. The following year, he served as an executive producer on Big George Foreman, a Christian film based on his boxing and spiritual life.

As of now, not much has been revealed surrounding Foreman’s death. What is known is that he made quite the impact on the boxing community and the world, and his loss will certainly be felt, even for those who are not boxing fans.