George Foreman, Heavyweight Champ, Dies At 76

American George Foreman, one of the great second acts in sports, who reclaimed the heavyweight boxing title at age 45 and became a celebrated product pitchman, died on Friday at age 76.

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, his family said in an Instagram post.

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.

Foremans comeback and the fortune he made selling fat-wicking electric cooking grills made him an icon of self-improvement and success for the Baby Boom generation.

Born in Marshall, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1949, Foremans family soon 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.