George Foreman: U.S. boxer at the age of 76

George Foreman’s family announced the death of the American boxing legend at the age of 76 on Friday. That reports. The Foreman, born in Texas, was not only an outstanding athlete, but was later also known as a businessman and TV personality.

Foreman’s career started spectacularly with winning the gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. In 1973 he defeated the previously undefeated heavy -brewed shampion Joe Frazier and secured his first world championship title.

The struggle from 1974 against Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) became world famous in the then Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), who went down in history as “Rumble in the Jungle”. Ali surprisingly defeated Foreman in the eighth round. Later the two developed a close friendship. When Ali died in 2016, Foreman said: “I lost my best friend.”

After a formative experience in the ring, Foreman withdrew from boxing in 1977 and became a reborn Christian. In 1978 he had his pastor ordained and preached in his Texas homeland in Houston. Surprisingly, he returned to the ring around ten years later and won the heavyweight title again in 1994 at the age of 45 and against the almost 20 years younger Michael Moorer. Foreman wrote boxing history with this comeback, and there had never been an older title holder. It was only in 1997 that he finally gave up his boxing gloves.

Foreman used his popularity in the 1990s and became an icon of pop culture by television advertising for the “Foreman Grill” named after him. With his information and the successful budget product, he established himself as a skillful businessman away from the boxing ring.