Early career Foreman turned professional in 1969 with a three-round
knockout of
Donald Walheim in New York City. He had a total of 13 fights that year, winning all of them (11 by knockout). In 1970, Foreman continued his march toward the undisputed heavyweight title, winning all 12 of his bouts (11 by knockout). Among the opponents he defeated were
Gregorio Peralta, whom he decisioned at
Madison Square Garden, although Peralta showed that Foreman was vulnerable to fast counter-punching mixed with an assertive boxing style. Foreman then defeated
George Chuvalo by technical knockout (TKO) in three rounds. After this win, Foreman defeated Charlie Polite in four rounds and
Boone Kirkman in three. Peralta and Chuvalo were Foreman's first world-level wins. Peralta was the number-10 ranked heavyweight in the world in January 1970 per
The Ring, while Chuvalo was number seven in the world per their March 1971 issue. In 1971, Foreman won seven more fights, winning all of them by knockout, including a rematch with Peralta, whom he defeated by knockout in the 10th and final round in
Oakland, California, and a win over Leroy Caldwell, whom he knocked out in the second round. After amassing a record of 32–0 (29 KO), he was ranked as the number-one challenger by the
World Boxing Association and
World Boxing Council.
First reign as heavyweight champion Foreman vs. Frazier In 1972, still undefeated and with an impressive knockout record, Foreman was set to challenge undefeated and
undisputed World Heavyweight Champion
Joe Frazier. Despite boycotting a title elimination tournament resulting from the championship being stripped from
Muhammad Ali, Frazier had won the title from
Jimmy Ellis and defended his title four times since, including a 15-round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Ali in 1971 after Ali had beaten
Oscar Bonavena and
Jerry Quarry. Despite Foreman's superior size and reach, he was not expected to beat Frazier and was a 3:1 underdog going into the fight. The Sunshine Showdown took place on January 22, 1973, in
Kingston, Jamaica, with Foreman dominating the fight to win the championship by
TKO. In ABC's rebroadcast,
Howard Cosell made the memorable call, "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" Before the fight, Frazier was 29–0 (25 KO) and Foreman was 37–0 (34 KO). Frazier was knocked down six times by Foreman within two rounds (the three-knockdown rule was not in effect for this bout). After the second knockdown, Frazier's balance and mobility were impaired to the extent that he was unable to evade Foreman's combinations. Frazier managed to get to his feet for all six knockdowns, but referee
Arthur Mercante eventually called an end to the one-sided bout.
Foreman vs. Roman Foreman was sometimes characterized by the media as an aloof and antisocial champion. They said he sneered and was rarely available to the press. Foreman later said he was emulating former world champion and occasional sparring partner
Sonny Liston. Foreman defended his title successfully twice during his initial reign as champion. His first defense, in Tokyo, pitted him against Puerto Rican Heavyweight Champion
José Roman. Roman was not regarded as a top contender, but had managed to beat a few decent fighters such as EBU champion Spain Jose Manuel Urtain, and was ranked the number-seven heavyweight in the March 1973 issue of
The Ring. Foreman won the fight in only two minutes.
Foreman vs. Norton Foreman's next defense was against a much tougher opponent. In 1974, in
Caracas, Venezuela, he faced the highly regarded future hall-of-famer
Ken Norton (who was 30–2), a boxer noted for his heavy punch and
crossed-armed defense (a style Foreman emulated in his comeback), who had broken the jaw of Muhammad Ali in a points victory a year earlier. Norton had performed well against Ali in their two matches, winning the first on points and narrowly losing the second. (Norton developed a reputation for showing nerves against heavy hitters, largely beginning with this fight.) After an even first round, Foreman staggered Norton with an uppercut a minute into round two, buckling him into the ropes. Norton did not hit the canvas, but continued on wobbly legs, clearly not having recovered, and shortly he went down a further two times in quick succession, with the referee intervening and stopping the fight. There was considerable controversy after the fight as both fighters ran into unexpected trouble with the Venezuelan government. The fight had been made in Venezuela on the basis that all taxes would be waived. However, a day after the fight, the government renounced the offer. The tax problems led to the fight being dubbed the "Caracas Caper". Foreman's next title defense, on October 30, 1974, in
Kinshasa,
Zaire, against
Muhammad Ali, was historic. The bout, promoted as "
The Rumble in the Jungle", exceeded even its wildest expectations. Ali used this time to tour Zaire, endearing himself to the public, while taunting Foreman at every opportunity. Foreman was favored, having crushed undefeated heavyweight champion
Joe Frazier and toppled formidable challenger
Ken Norton both within two rounds. " to avoid Foreman's formidable power When Foreman and Ali finally met in the ring, Ali began more aggressively than expected, outscoring Foreman with superior punching speed. In the second round, Ali retreated to the ropes, shielding his head and hitting Foreman in the face at every opportunity. Foreman dug vicious body punches into Ali's sides; however, Foreman was unable to land many big punches to Ali's head. The ring ropes were unusually loose, and Foreman later charged that
Angelo Dundee (Ali's longtime trainer) had loosened them as part of Ali's tactic to lean back and away from the wild swings before
clinching Foreman behind the head; Dundee stated that not only did he tighten the ropes because they were so loose due to the heat, Ali came up with the "rope-a-dope" strategy entirely on his own. Ali had been known as a fighter of speed and movement, but the
rope-a-dope technique worked exactly to plan, since Foreman had not had a fight that lasted past the fourth round since 1971. Ali continued to take heavy punishment to the body in exchange for the opportunity to land a hard jolt to Foreman's head. Ali later said he was "out on his feet" twice during the bout. As Foreman began to tire, his punches began to lose power and became increasingly wild. By mid-bout an increasingly confident Ali began to taunt the exhausted champion relentlessly, who had been reduced to mere pawing and landing harmless rubber-armed blows. Late in the eighth round Ali came off the ropes with a series of successively harder and more accurate right hooks to the side and back of Foreman's head, leaving him dazed and careening backwards. After a lightning two-punch flurry squared him up, Ali ended the bout with a combination of solid left hook and straight right flush to the jaw that sent Foreman windmilling hard to the canvas, the first time he had been down in his career. At the stoppage, Ali led on all three scorecards by 68–66, 70–67, and 69–66. Foreman later reflected, "it just wasn't my night". Foreman later also claimed he was drugged by his trainer prior to the bout. Though he sought a rematch with Ali, he was unable to secure one. In some quarters it was suggested Ali was ducking him, while taking on low-risk opponents such as
Chuck Wepner,
Richard Dunn,
Jean Pierre Coopman, and
Alfredo Evangelista. However, Ali also fought formidable opponents, such as
Ron Lyle, and accepted rematches with Frazier and
Ken Norton, the only two men to have beaten him up until that time.
Return to the ring Foreman vs. Lyle In 1976, he announced a professional comeback and stated his intention of securing a rematch with Ali. His first opponent was to be
Ron Lyle, who had been defeated by Ali in 1975, via an 11th-round TKO. Lyle was the number-five rated heavyweight in the world at the time per the March 1976 issue of
The Ring. At the end of the first round, Lyle landed a hard right that sent Foreman staggering across the ring. In the second round, Foreman pounded Lyle against the ropes and might have scored a KO, but the bell rang with a minute still remaining in the round and Lyle survived. In the third, Foreman pressed forward, with Lyle waiting to counter off the ropes. In the fourth, a brutal slugfest erupted. A cluster of power punches from Lyle sent Foreman to the canvas. When Foreman got up, Lyle staggered him again, but just as Foreman seemed finished, he retaliated with a hard right to the side of the head, knocking down Lyle. Lyle beat the count, then landed another brutal combination, knocking Foreman down for the second time. Again, Foreman beat the count. Foreman said later that he had never been hit so hard in a fight and remembered looking down at the canvas and seeing blood. In the fifth round, both fighters continued to ignore defense and traded their hardest punches, looking crude. Each man staggered the other, and each seemed almost out on his feet. Then, as if finally tired, Lyle stopped punching, and Foreman delivered a dozen unanswered blows until Lyle collapsed to the canvas. Lyle remained down, giving Foreman a KO victory. The fight was named by
The Ring as "The Fight of the Year".
Foreman vs. Young Foreman had a life-changing year in 1977. After knocking out Pedro Agosto in four rounds at
Pensacola, Florida, Foreman flew to Puerto Rico a day before his next fight without giving himself time to acclimatize. His opponent was the skilled boxer
Jimmy Young, who had beaten Ron Lyle and lost a very controversial decision to Muhammad Ali the previous year. Foreman fought cautiously early on, allowing Young to settle into the fight. Young constantly complained about Foreman pushing him, for which Foreman eventually had a point deducted by the referee, although Young was never warned for his persistent holding. Foreman badly hurt Young in round seven, but was unable to land a finishing blow. Foreman tired during the second half of the fight and suffered a knockdown in round twelve before losing by unanimous decision. Referee Waldemar Schmidt had it 118–111, judge Cesar Ramos scored it 116–112, and judge Ismael Wiso Fernandez scored it 115–114, all to Young.
Retirement Foreman became ill in his dressing room after his bout versus Young. He was suffering from exhaustion and
heat stroke and stated he had a
near-death experience. He spoke of being in a hellish, frightening place of nothingness and despair, and felt that he was in the midst of death. Though not yet religious, he began to plead with God to help him. He explained that he sensed God asking him to change his life and ways whereupon he said, "I don't care if this is death—I still believe there is a God!" After this experience, Foreman became a
born-again Christian, dedicating his life for the next decade to God. Although he did not formally retire from boxing, Foreman stopped fighting and became an ordained minister, initially preaching on street corners before becoming the minister of the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston and devoting himself to his family and his congregation. He also opened a youth center that bears his name. Foreman continued to speak about his experience on Christian television broadcasts such as
The 700 Club and the
Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Comeback In 1987, after 10 years away from the ring, Foreman surprised the boxing world by announcing a comeback at the age of 38. In his autobiography, he wrote that his primary motive was to raise money to fund the youth center he had created, which had required much of the money he had earned in the initial phase of his career. Another stated ambition was to fight
Mike Tyson. For his first fight, he went to
Sacramento, California, where he beat
journeyman Steve Zouski by a knockout in four rounds. Foreman weighed for the fight and looked badly out of shape. Although many thought his decision to return to the ring was a mistake, Foreman countered that he had returned to prove that age was not a barrier to people achieving their goals (as he said later, he wanted to show that age 40 is not a "death sentence"). He won four more bouts that year, gradually slimming down and improving his fitness. In 1988, he won nine times, including a seventh-round knockout of former Light Heavyweight and
Cruiserweight Champion
Dwight Muhammad Qawi when referee
Carlos Padilla Jr. stopped the fight. Having always been a deliberate fighter, Foreman had not lost much mobility in the ring since his first retirement, although he found keeping his balance harder after throwing big punches and could no longer throw rapid combinations. He was still capable of landing heavy single blows, however. The late-round fatigue that had plagued him in the ring as a young man had improved and he could comfortably compete for 12 rounds. Foreman attributed this to his new, relaxed fighting style. By 1989, while continuing his comeback, Foreman sold his name and face for the advertising of various products, most notably the successful
George Foreman Grill. His public persona improved considerably, and the formerly aloof, intimidating Foreman was replaced by a cheerful, friendly man who engaged in self-deprecation on
The Tonight Show. He also befriended Ali and as the latter had done, made himself a celebrity outside of boxing. Foreman continued his string of victories, winning five more fights, the most impressive being a three-round win over
Bert Cooper, who went on to contest the undisputed heavyweight title against
Evander Holyfield. Cooney wobbled Foreman in the first round, but Foreman landed several powerful punches in the second round. Cooney was knocked down twice and Foreman finished with a KO. Foreman went on to win four more fights that year.
World title challenges Foreman vs. Holyfield The following year, Foreman was given the opportunity to challenge undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield for the world title in a
pay-per-view boxing event. Very few boxing experts gave the 42-year-old Foreman a chance of winning. Foreman, who weighed in at 257 pounds, began the contest by marching forward, absorbing several of Holyfield's best combinations and occasionally landing a powerful swing of his own. Holyfield proved too tough and agile to knock down and was well ahead on points throughout the fight, but Foreman surprised many by lasting the full 12 rounds, losing his challenge on points, with scores of 116–111, 115–112, and 117–110. Although
The Ring magazine's "Round of the Year" was not awarded in 1991, the seventh round, in which Foreman knocked Holyfield off balance before being staggered by a powerful combination, has been called a historic round of boxing and the remarkable high point of the fight.
Foreman vs. Stewart A year later, Foreman fought journeyman
Alex Stewart, who had previously been stopped in the first round by Mike Tyson. Foreman knocked down Stewart twice in the second round, but expended a lot of energy in doing so. He was subsequently tired, and Stewart rebounded. By the end of the 10th and final round, Foreman's face was bloodied and swollen, but the judges awarded him a majority decision win, with scores of 94–94 and 94–93 twice.
Foreman vs. Coetzer Foreman returned to the ring in January 1993, defeating South African heavyweight contender
Pierre Coetzer by eighth-round technical knockout.
Foreman vs. Morrison Foreman received another title shot, although this was for the vacant
WBO title. Foreman's opponent was
Tommy Morrison, a young prospect known for his punching power. Morrison retreated throughout the fight, refusing to trade toe-to-toe, and sometimes turned his back on Foreman. The strategy paid off and he outboxed Foreman from long range. After 12 rounds, Morrison won a unanimous decision, with two scores of 117–110 and one score of 118–109. In this period, Foreman also starred briefly in the
situation comedy George on
ABC. The show, which featured Foreman as a retired boxer, premiered in November 1993, and ran for nine episodes, though ten were made. The show was co-produced by actor and former boxer
Tony Danza.
Second reign as heavyweight champion Foreman vs. Moorer In 1994, Foreman again sought to challenge for the world championship after
Michael Moorer had beaten Holyfield for the IBF and WBA titles. Having lost his last fight against Morrison, Foreman was unranked and in no position to demand another title shot. His relatively high profile, however, made a title shot against Moorer, 19 years his junior, a lucrative prospect at seemingly little risk for the champion. Foreman's title challenge against Moorer took place on November 5 in
Las Vegas, Nevada, with Foreman wearing the same red trunks he had worn in his title loss to Ali 20 years earlier. This time, however, Foreman was a substantial underdog. For nine rounds, Moorer easily outboxed him, hitting and moving away, while Foreman chugged forward, seemingly unable to "pull the trigger" on his punches. Entering the 10th round, Foreman was trailing on all scorecards: two judges had it 88–83 and one had it 86–85, all to Moorer. However, Foreman launched a comeback in the 10th round and hit Moorer with a number of punches. Then, a short right hand caught Moorer on the tip of his chin, gashing open his bottom lip, and he collapsed to the canvas. He lay flat on the canvas as the referee counted him out. In an instant, Foreman had regained the title he had lost to Muhammad Ali two decades before. He went back to his corner and knelt in prayer as the arena erupted in cheers. With this historic victory, Foreman broke three records: He became, at age 45, the oldest fighter ever to win a world championship; 20 years after losing his title for the first time, he broke the record for the fighter with the longest interval between his first and second world championships; and he also became the oldest winner of a major title fight.
Foreman vs. Schulz Shortly after the 1994 Moorer fight, Foreman began talking about a potential superfight with Mike Tyson, then the youngest heavyweight champion on record. In 1995,
The New York Times quoted Foreman as stating, "If he doesn't sign with
Don King, we'll fight before the end of the year ... I can't be bothered having trouble with Don King. Every contract has some complication." Tyson signed with King (and by 1998, was suing him for $100 million); and the bout never materialized. The WBA demanded that Foreman fight their number-one challenger, who at the time was the competent, but aging,
Tony Tucker. For reasons not clearly known, Foreman refused to fight Tucker and allowed the WBA to strip him of that belt. On April 22, 1995, Foreman fought midlevel underdog prospect
Axel Schulz, of Germany, in defense of his remaining IBF title. Schulz jabbed strongly from long range, and exhibited increasing confidence as the fight progressed. Foreman finished the fight with a swelling over one eye, but was awarded a controversial majority decision, with one judge ruled the fight a draw with a score of 114–114, while the other two had the fight 115–113 in favor of Foreman. The IBF ordered an immediate rematch to be held in Germany; Foreman refused the terms and was stripped of his remaining title, yet continued to be recognized as the
Lineal Heavyweight Champion.
Post-title career Foreman vs. Briggs In 1996, Foreman returned to Tokyo, scoring an easy win over the unrated
Crawford Grimsley by a 12-round decision, with scores of 116–112, 117–111, and 119–109. In 1997, he faced contender
Lou Savarese, winning a close split decision (113–114, 115–112, and 118–110) in a grueling, competitive encounter. Then, yet another opportunity came Foreman's way as the WBC decided to match him against
Shannon Briggs in a 1997 "eliminator bout" for the right to face WBC champion
Lennox Lewis. After 12 rounds, in which Foreman consistently rocked Briggs with power punches, almost everyone at ringside saw Foreman as the clear winner. Like Foreman's fight with Schulz, the decision was highly controversial, but this time the decision went in favor of Foreman's opponent, with Briggs awarded a majority decision. One judge scored the bout 114–114, while the other two judges scored it 117–113 and 116–112 for Briggs. Foreman had fought for the last time, at the age of 48.
Second retirement Though it was not aired, a travelogue series of the
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts called
The Walt Disney Magic Hour, and hosted by Foreman, was supposed to debut as part of
PAX's debut lineup in 1998. Foreman was gracious and philosophical in his loss to Briggs, but announced his "final" retirement shortly afterwards. However, he did plan a return bout against
Larry Holmes in 1999, scheduled to take place at the Houston
Astrodome on pay-per-view. The fight was to be billed as "The Birthday Bash" due to both fighters' upcoming birthdays. Foreman was set to make $10 million and Holmes was to make $4 million, but negotiations fell through and the fight was canceled. With a continuing affinity for the sport, Foreman became a respected boxing analyst for HBO. Foreman said he had no plans to resume his career as a boxer, but then announced in February 2004 that he was training for one more comeback fight to demonstrate that the age of 55, like 40, is not a "death sentence". The bout, against an unspecified opponent (rumored to be
Trevor Berbick), never materialized. In a later interview, Foreman credited his wife's influence on his change of plans. He left the sport of boxing after leaving HBO to pursue other opportunities. == Exhibition bouts ==