George Foreman, Boxing Champion And Olympic Gold Medallist, Passes Away Aged 76

TV & Film

Mar 25

Heavyweight boxing champion George Edward Foreman Sr. has died peacefully at age 76. Confirmed via Foreman’s Instagram account, the post states that he “departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by loved ones.”

Foreman’s first success in boxing would come during the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he won a gold medal at 19 years of age. Five years after that win, ‘Big George’ would take the world heavyweight championship title with a two-round knockout of Joe Frazier. He would retire from boxing in 1977, after a religious experience in a dressing room after losing to Jimmy Young.

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Becoming a born-again Christian, Foreman would be ordained as a minister in 1978, found the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1980, and found the non-profit George Foreman Youth and Community Center in 1984.

After ten years of doing good for the world, Foreman would return to boxing in 1987. Having lost the heavyweight title a year after he claimed it, it would be his once again in 1994, after a defeat of Michael Moorer would make him the oldest boxer to win the championship.

In an NBC News interview in 2023, Foreman would credit the Job Corps program, started by President Lyndon B. Johnson, for getting him to that career in boxing. “I have been literally rescued from the gutter. I was hiding out from police. The next thing you know, I’m in the Job Corps program getting three meals in one day. They built me into what I’ve become.” Later in life, he would come to teach kids to stay on the right road. To never throw a punch in anger.

Fellow heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said of Foreman’s passing, “Condolences to George Foreman’s family. His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten.” The Mayor of Houston, John Whitmire, said, “We knew him as a proud member of our community – a man whose heart was as big as his powerful punch.” On the Instagram post that announced his death, his family say they “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.”

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