He slowed his pace a bit in , fighting just seven times, all wins via knockout, and then had five more knockout victories in , which moved his record to 34 KO , which earned him a shot at fellow gold medalist, Joe Frazier , who was the undefeated WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight champion of the world. After taking some time off, Foreman returned to the ring in January and reeled off five straight wins over the next year, including another victory over Frazer, before being upset by Jimmy Young in March in Puerto Rico.
While he never officially retired from boxing, George Foreman stayed out of the ring for 10 years and became a reverend at a church in Houston, the same city in which he opened a youth center. In , at the age of 38, Foreman announced his return to boxing in an order to raise money for his youth center. He also had a desire to fight Mike Tyson, who had taken the heavyweight division by storm and had become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20 a year earlier.
He took low-level bouts and fought a lot. After scoring a knockout victory over journeyman Steve Zouski in his comeback fight in March , Foreman fought 24 times over the next three and a half years and won all 24, 23 of those wins coming via knockout, which earned him a shot at WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
Just over two years later, after picking up three more victories, Foremen got a shot at the vacant WBO heavyweight crown against Tommy Morrison. It was in his dressing room after the fight that Foreman had a religious experience that changed his life forever.
Foreman gave up boxing and became a born-again Christian. He was ordained a minister in and began preaching in his hometown of Houston, Texas. In , he founded the George Foreman Youth and Community Center, a non-denominational place for kids who need direction like he once did. However, by the mids, Foreman was running out of money and people around him were advising him to close the Youth and Community Center. Foreman saw how much the Center was helping people so he was determined to do what was necessary to keep it open.
So, in , after not fighting for almost 10 years to the day, Foreman returned to the ring. While there was no shortage of detractors, Foreman proved them all wrong when he kept piling up win after win. In fact, Foreman had won 24 consecutive fights during his comeback including 22 by knockout. Now at age 42, Foreman's success and popularity earned him a chance at the title against unbeaten Evander Holyfield. The fight went the full 12 rounds and while Holyfield won in a decision, Foreman gained a great deal of credibility.
After more than a year out of the ring, On Nov. With the victory, at the age of 45, Foreman became the oldest fighter ever to win the heavyweight crown as well as the boxer with the most time between one world championship and the next. Foreman gave away his titles in , after defending them against Axel Schultz and refusing a rematch. Foreman ultimately retired in after compiling an amazing career record. Since the early s, Foreman had discovered his talent for salesmanship, and by the end of the decade, he was making millions off of his appearances in infomercials marketing the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine.
To date, more than million of the units have sold worldwide. Foreman also spent over a decade promoting Meineke Car Care Centers and grew the business to over franchises.
A self-proclaimed thug, he dropped out of school in the ninth grade and ran with street gangs until he joined the Job Corps in The Job Corps provided Foreman with a connection to boxing trainer Doc Broaddus, who encouraged him to apply his fighting skills in the ring.
Foreman adapted quickly enough that he was named to the U. Olympic boxing team for the Olympics in Mexico City. In October , Foreman won the gold medal in the heavyweight boxing division with a second-round technical knockout of the Soviet Union's Ionas Chepulis. He went pro shortly afterward. He won his first 37 professional fights before earning a shot at heavyweight champion "Smokin'" Joe Frazier on Jan 22, , in Kingston, Jamaica.
Foreman was an underdog against Frazier, but he shockingly knocked the champ down six times over the course of two rounds to claim the heavyweight crown. Foreman's reign ended with a loss to Muhammad Ali in the legendary "Rumble in the Jungle" title bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, on October 30, Employing his "rope-a-dope" technique, Ali leaned back against the ropes to deflect Foreman's thunderous punches, then turned aggressor and floored the bigger man in the eighth round.
It was Foreman's only defeat by knockout in his professional career. Foreman's quest for another title shot was derailed with a loss to nimble-footed Jimmy Young in March Exhausted and dehydrated after the fight, Foreman claimed to have a religious awakening and retired.
Ten years after his loss to Young, at age 38 — and with an extra 50 pounds and a friendlier public persona in tow — Foreman returned to professional boxing. Foreman failed to impress in his comeback win over Steve Zouski, but he worked himself into better shape as he knocked out a string of improving opponents, and was eventually given a title shot against heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
Although he lost a bout to Holyfield on April 19, , in Atlantic City, Foreman earned praise for going the distance against the younger champion.
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