George Foreman, heavyweight boxing icon and business entrepreneur, passed away on Friday (Mar 21).
The International Boxing Hall of Famer’s family announced the news on his Instagram page.
“Our hearts are broken,” the caption read on the post. “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. 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.”
Forman was born and raised in Houston. “I grew up in the Fifth Ward of Houston — the Bloody Fifth, we called it. Every weekend someone got killed,” he told Esquire in 2006. As People reports, He dropped out of school at 15. But at 16 he signed up for the Job Corps, where he got his GED and learned carpentry and bricklaying.
His rough environment became the springboard to his boxing career. “I went into boxing at the age of 17 to lose weight and become a great street fighter,” he told Ringside Report in 2000. “Next thing I know, I was fighting as a Golden Glover. It basically all happened as an accident.”
Foreman had 12 kids, five sons and seven daughters. And when it came time to name the boys, Foreman decided to name each one of them after himself: George Edward Foreman.
“I named all my sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common. I say to them, ‘If one of us goes up, then we all go up together. And if one goes down, we all go down together!’” he explained.
Foreman also discussed the decision in an interview with CBN, saying, “I named all my sons George Edward Foreman. And I tell people, ‘If you’re going to get hit as many times as I’ve been hit by Mohammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield – you’re not going to remember many names.’”
Career
Foreman won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. “Winning that gold medal at the end, I wanted the whole world to know where I was from, so I picked up a small American flag and paraded around the ring to make sure they knew,” he told On the Ropes, a boxing radio show, in 2023. “This was my chance to represent my country. That was greater to me than even winning the boxing matches.”
Turning professional the following year, Foreman won the world heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of the then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. He defended the belt twice before suffering his first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in a match titled, Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Unable to secure another title opportunity, Foreman retired after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977. He hung up his gloves at age 28, citing his religious beliefs and his mother’s wishes.
He was best known as the face of the George Foreman Grill, a rudimentary cooking machine which sold more than 100 million units and made him much wealthier than his sport ever did.