Foreman, George (redirected from George Foreman)

Foreman, George, 1948–, American boxer, b. Marshall, Tex. A high school dropout, Foreman learned to box in the Job Corps. In 1968 he was the Olympic heavyweight gold medalist. Foreman beat Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight crown in 1973 and defended the title twice before losing to Muhammad Ali. He retired to the ministry in 1977, but launched a comeback in 1987, losing a title fight at age 43. In 1994 Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to win the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles and become the world's oldest heavyweight champion, but he was stripped of the WBA crown in 1995 and relinquished the IBF title the same year.

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Foreman, George

(born Jan. 10, 1949, Marshall, Texas, U.S.) U.S. boxer. Foreman grew up in Houston, Texas, and learned to box in a U.S. Job Corps camp in Oregon. He won the Olympic gold medal in heavyweight boxing in 1968. His first world heavyweight title victory was his second-round knockout of Joe Frazier in 1973. He had won all 40 of his professional bouts, many by knockout, before he fell in eight rounds to Muhammad Ali in 1974 in the so-called “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire, one of the most famous matches in modern boxing history. He retired in 1978 but began a remarkable comeback in 1987 at age 38; he regained the title in 10 rounds against Michael Moorer in 1994 to become, at 45, the oldest titleholder ever. He announced his retirement again the next year but fought a few more times in 1996–97. He has been an ordained minister since 1977.

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Foreman, George (1949–  ) boxer; born in Marshall, Texas. Coming from a broken home, he joined the Job Corps (1965–67) while training and boxing as an amateur. He won the gold medal as a heavyweight at the 1968 Olympics, then turned professional in 1969. He held the world heavyweight championship (1973–74) until he was defeated by a resurgent Muhammad Ali in Zaire, Africa. He became an ordained minister in 1977 and devoted his money and energies to community work among poor African-Americans in Texas. Needing more money for his projects, he made a comeback as a heavyweight (1987) that was noted less for his being a serious threat and more for his becoming everyone's favorite boxer. In 1994 he knocked out Michael Moorer in a fight sanctioned by two of the three main boxing organizations to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.