George Foreman, boxing champion turned businessman, dies at 76

George Foreman, the two-time heavyweight boxing champion who lost to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” and later became a successful entrepreneur, has died. He was 76.

Foreman died on March 21 surrounded by loved ones, according to a post on his Instagram account, calling him “a devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather.”

“He lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose,” the post said. “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.”

George Edward Foreman was born on Jan. 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas. He was a “rebellious teen” who bullied younger children and became a mugger and brawler by the age of 15, according to his website, before finding boxing as an outlet while in the Job Corps., a program that offered vocational training for disadvantaged youth.

At 19, he won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, and turned professional the following year.

“After I won the Gold Medal, I went to the White House to present President Lyndon Johnson with a plaque as a way of thanking him for creating the Job Corps,” Foreman said on his website.

In 1973, Foreman won his first heavyweight champion title by knocking out Joe Frazier in two rounds. 

A year later, Ali beat Foreman with an eighth-round knockout in Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ali used the “rope-a-dope,” a strategy of standing against the ropes and letting Foreman punch himself into exhaustion.

Foreman retired in 1977 following a bout with Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico.

“In his locker room after the match, George had a deeply religious experience that changed his life forever,” according to his website. He later became an ordained minister. 

In By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman, he wrote that he tapped his retirement funds to form a charitable foundation that set up the George Foreman Youth and Community Center in Houston.

A decade after stepping away, Foreman returned to the ring and embarked on one of the most successful sports comebacks.

In November 1994, about two months shy of turning 46, Foreman won the heavyweight title again by defeating Michael Moorer and became the oldest person to be awarded the belt. He retired for the second time in 1997.

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Foreman had five sons and seven daughters, according to People magazine.

“I named all my sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common,” he said on his website.

Foreman discovered his talent for selling when he was making his comeback, he told Bloomberg Businessweek in a 2004 feature. Relegated to fighting second-rate fighters in tiny towns, he was asked to tape a 10-second promotion for a local TV station in Florida. He grabbed the microphone, he recalled in the article, and screamed: “I’m going to show the whole world that age 40 is not a death sentence! Watch me!” The fight sold out in seconds. 

By the end of the 1990s, Foreman was making millions from appearances in infomercials selling the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine. His website says more than 100 million units of the electrical appliance have been sold worldwide, and the franchise had reportedly earned the former boxer more than $200 million.

“I did not invent the grill,” he said of the venture. “We made it a better looking piece of furniture.”

In 2002, Foreman was in Memphis and ran into a group of preschoolers on the street, he told Bloomberg Businessweek. Their teacher explained to the children that Foreman had won the gold medal in heavyweight boxing at the 1968 Olympic Games. One little boy refused to believe it. “That’s the cooking man!” shouted the tot, referring to the promotions of his grill. 

“They don’t even know me as the champion anymore,” Foreman said, laughing at the memory.

Tributes have poured in from athletes including boxer Mike Tyson and basketball’s Scottie Pippen.

“His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten,” Tyson said on X.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com