| George Foreman |
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George Foreman is a well-known name; his career has been long and eventful. Not only does he have the distinction of being known as one of 25 greatest boxers of all time, he was also the oldest man to win a heavyweight title. He is an accomplished businessman in addition to being an ordained Christian minister. He even owns his own church.
George Foreman is a well-known name; his career has been long and eventful. Not only does he have the distinction of being known as one of 25 greatest boxers of all time, he was also the oldest man to win a heavyweight title. He is an accomplished businessman in addition to being an ordained Christian minister. He even owns his own church. George Foreman has become a recognized name as a result of his lengthy and eventful boxing career. He not only has the distinction of being recognized as one of the top 25 boxers of all time, but he also became the oldest fighter to win a heavyweight title. In addition to his professional boxing career, he pastors his own church and is an accomplished businessman. He achieved an astounding record of 27-0 in his amateur career before turning professional in 1969. In his first year as a professional boxer, he won 12 fights, 11 of which were by knockout. He continued his quest for an undisputed heavyweight title in 1970 after winning all twelve of his fights that year. Just like the prior year, 11 of those victories were by knockout. During 1971, George Foreman earned seven more victories and had attained an astonishing 32-0 record. The WBC and WBA both considered him the number one challenger. Foreman continued his winning streak with an additional five victories in 1972. All of these victories were won in three rounds. In a historic 1973 match up, Foreman fought Joe Frazier, the undisputed and undefeated heavyweight world champion. In a bout called the Sunshine Showdown, broadcast by HBO Boxing, Foreman knocked Frazier to the canvas six times in only two rounds to win the championship by knockout. This became one of the greatest upsets in boxing history. Many boxing fans will always remember that final blow " a forceful uppercut that lifted Frazier completely off his feet before crashing down for the last time. Foreman kept his heavyweight title until his bout with former heavyweight champion Mohamed Ali in 1974. This bout was dubbed the Rumble in the Jungle and took place in the African country of Zaire. Ali defeated Foreman for the first time in Foremans professional career. Foreman was inactive for the rest of 1975 after this crushing defeat. In 1976, Foreman made his comeback. He continued fighting until he experienced what he describes as a near death experience in Puerto Rico in 1977. Foreman described becoming suddenly and deathly ill in his dressing room after losing a match to Jimmy Young in a 12 round decision. He was terrified by this sudden illness, and turned to God for help. Foreman recounts that God asked him to change his ways, and Foreman became a devout, born again Christian. Foreman jokes that Jimmy Young literally knocked the devil out of him. He has a large family, ten children, five boys, and five girls. He named all five of his sons George. In order of age they are George Jr., George III, George IV, George V and last but not least George VI. Foreman has a large family of ten kids, including five girls and five boys. All five of his sons are named George. They are, of course, George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI. Surprisingly, Foreman made another boxing comeback after 10 years out of the ring. At the mature age of 38, Foreman announced in 1988 that he would be returning to boxing. His aim was to show people that age did have to prevent anyone from achieving their goals. Foreman won eight fights that year, though none of his opponents were rated contenders. Foreman gained many victories, and some memorable defeats as well. Astonishingly, Foreman regained the heavyweight title in a bout in Las Vegas with Michael Moorer in November of 1994. Foreman broke two records in achieving this victory. He became the oldest man to ever win the heavyweight title, and he broke the world record for the longest time interval between championship wins. He kept boxing until he retired for good in 1999. Foreman was named the ninth greatest puncher of all time in 2003, when he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Other notable business ventures include commercial appearances for Meineke Mufflers, and promoting his ubiquitous George Foreman Grill. In 2004, he added his own line of Big and Tall clothes through Casual Male. In 1993, he starred in his own sitcom. Hes also been a judge on American Inventor, a TV reality series. Most recently, Foreman appeared in a July 2008 reality show titled Family Foreman which featured George and his family. Foreman has authored four books, all of which detail his life experiences. Given Foremans many notable and interesting experiences, these books are likely to provide interesting reading. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Looking for sports information? Check out http://nothingbutsports.info for the lastest news. http://nothingbutsports.info/ Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service |