While it is sad to see him gone, George Foreman had a happier ending than many of his world champion peers from the golden age of boxing.
The 6-foot-3, two-time heavyweight champion passed away March 21 at 76. While he may always be remembered for being upset by a rebounding Muhammad Ali in 1974, his later- and post-career wins are among the most impressive comeback stories in sports.
I’ve told the story here before of how Ali’s October, 1974 knockout of Foreman was a sports highlight I’ll never forget. An 8-to-1 favourite after knocking Joe Frasier down six times in two rounds, the loss to Ali was shattering for the seemingly unbeatable Foreman. It’s hard to fight back when you’ve been rope-a-doped. By 28, after a loss to Jimmy Young, he was seen as washed up and dropped out of boxing for a decade.
He did not mope-a-dope long. Foreman became a preacher, built a youth centre in his native Houston, Texas, and re-emerged as a positive role model. At 38, heavier and adopting an arms up, more efficient defensive style, he resumed his boxing career. In 1993, after trailing for most of the fight, his 10th round knockout of heavyweight champion Michael Moorer was one of the unlikeliest comebacks ever in boxing. Foreman, 45, was 19 years older than Moorer.
Foreman went on to become the Shaq of his day. He was full of charm in appearances with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and got rich from commercial endorsements.
By the time I saw him at a press conference for TV critics in Los Angeles in 2008, Foreman was beloved as a successful businessman-slash-grill pitchman. His George Foreman grills sold by the millions, making him more money than he earned in 81 pro boxing matches. The grill’s slanted design helped “knock out the fat,” as Big George used to say. Since its introduction in 1994, 100 million George Foreman Grills have been sold.
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At that TCA press tour gathering at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Forman was accompanied by two of his then 10 (and ultimately 12) children. Foreman famously named all of his sons George. George III (Monk) and George IV (Big Wheel) sat next to him at the TV Land gathering to promote Family Foreman.
The Champ was asked why people of “his stature” were suddenly willing to open up their lives to this kind of reality programming. The Osbournes, featuring rocker Ozzy Osbourne, wife Sharon and two of their children, were bleeping red hot at the time. Foreman admitted he was more a fan of fly-on-the-wall reality shows featuring Hulk Hogan and Whitney Houston.
“Forty years ago, I won an Olympic gold medal, and my life has been an open book anyway,” he said. “And sometimes guys are peeping over the windows and peeping over the gates taking pictures of my anyway. I just said, ‘Come on in.’ That’s all.”
He added that he also thought it would be a great opportunity to be on television. ”Every child’s dream,” he said, “and I’m still a child at heart.”
The two George’s with him agreed with their dad. They talked about how their dad was a prankster at home and if they got in trouble at school, his parents were never sure which George did it.
Asked why he named his five boys George, Foreman had the answer down pat. ”I tell everyone when you’ve been hit on the head by Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield, Muhammad Ali, how many names do you expect me to come up with?”
Foreman saw himself mainly as a preacher who was “moonlighting as a grill salesman to feed all these kids.” He wasn’t going to get backed against the ropes when another reporter asked if he was afraid he might be embarrassed by something that people would see on his reality show.
“You know, it’s fun. Whatever people are going to do, they’re going to do anyway. I just want to have fun. The best thing in the world is to wake up in the morning with a feeling like, ‘We’re going to have some fun.’ And you’re going to meet a lot of people. And that’s what the show is all about. You can’t predict the future, but you can have fun anticipating some fun.”
