SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 12: GEORGE FOREMAN CELEBRATES HIS 75TH BIRTHDAY
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 12 Jan 2024
George Foreman is 75 years old last January 10 this year. Born George Edward Foreman on January 10, 1949, he is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. He competed in his boxing career between 1967 and 1997 and was nicknamed "Big George". He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist.
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His birth place was Marshall, Texas, U.S. He stood 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) with a reach of 79 in (201 cm) and an Orthodox fighter. He has 81 total fights garnering 76 wins, 68 wins by KO, and 5 losses.
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Foreman started as an amateur boxer and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. He turned professional the next year, and won the world heavyweight title with a shocking second-round knockout of then unbeaten Joe Frazier in 1973.
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He defended his title twice then suffered his first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in the historic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Failing to win another world title, Foreman retired after losing to Jimmy Young in 1977.
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Foreman became an ordained Christian minister. But ten years later he made a comeback, and in 1994 at age 45 won the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal heavyweight championship titles by knocking out in the 10th round the 26-year-old Michael Moorer.
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He dropped the WBA belt rather than face his mandatory title defense soon after, and following a single successful title defense against Axel Schulz, Foreman relinquished his IBF title as well on June 28, 1995. At 46 years and 169 days old, he was the oldest world heavyweight champion in history.
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Foreman is the oldest to ever win the world heavyweight boxing championship of major honors, and the second-oldest in any weight class after Bernard Hopkins (at light heavyweight). He retired in 1997 at the age of 48, with a final record of 76 wins (68 knockouts) and 5 losses.
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Foreman has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization placed Foreman as the eighth greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. In 2002, he was named one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring. The Ring listed him as the ninth greatest puncher of all time.
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He worked as a ringside analyst for HBO's boxing coverage for 12 years until 2004. He was also a successful entrepreneur and was popular for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights of the grill worth $138 million.
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Sports History: January 12, 1966. Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach records his 1,000th NBA career victory including regular season and playoffs, by a score of 114-102 over the Los Angeles Lakers in Boston.
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