Tributes poured in for George Foreman, who died Friday at the age of 76.
They revealed the multifaceted legacy of a man who was simultaneously a fearsome heavyweight champion; a down-and-out boxer who came back to win a world title at age 45; the USA’s best-known grill mogul; and one–third of heavyweight boxing’s “holy trinity” alongside Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
Trump called the two-time heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist a “GREAT FIGHTER” in a post on his Truth Social account on Saturday.
Trump added that Foreman had the “heaviest and biggest punch in the history of boxing” and said with the exception of Muhammad Ali, “when you got hit, you went down.”He praised Foreman as a “great person, with a personality that was bigger than life,” and sent condolences to his family.
Boxing Hall of Famer and entrepreneur George Foreman has died at age 76, his family announced in an Instagram post on his account.“With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by loved ones,” the post read.
Foreman, a heavyweight champion boxer, was “a devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather”, the family’s statement said.
“A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world. He was deeply respected – a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name – for his family.
“We 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.”An intimidating, thunderous puncher who lost his first title to Muhammad Ali in their famous Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, “Big George” was a more rotund, jovial figure when he knocked out Michael Moorer for his second crown two decades later.Foreman’s comeback and the fortune he made selling fat-wicking electric cooking grills made him an icon of self-improvement and success.
Soon after his birth in Marshall, Texas, on 10 January 1949, his family moved to Houston, where he and his six siblings were raised by a single mother. Growing up poor in the segregated American south, Foreman dropped out of junior high school and used his size and fists in street robberies. The job corps, part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society reforms, “rescued me from the gutter”, Foreman later wrote. Through the program, 16-year-old Foreman moved out of Texas and was encouraged to channel his rage and growing bulk into boxing.
At age 19 and in his 25th amateur fight, Foreman captured the heavyweight boxing gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. After turning pro, he won 37 straight matches on his way to face reigning champion Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, winning by technical knockout in round two.
Foreman defended the belt twice more before meeting Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in one of the most celebrated boxing matches in history. Foreman’s last fight was in 1997, ending his career with a professional record of 76 wins and five losses.
Author: Bunmi Johnson
New York, USA
olu20@hotmail.com
