Heavyweight Champion George Foreman died at the age of 76, his family announced Friday.
Foreman died surrounded by loved ones, said his family.
“Our hearts are broken,” the family wrote in an Instagram post. “With deep sadness, we announced the death of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr., who departed peacefully on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones.”
George Foreman at the premiere of “Big George Foreman” held at Regal La Live on April 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Mark von Holden/Variety through Getty Images)
“A devout preacher, a devout husband, a loving father and a great and great -grandfather, lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” the publication continued.
“A humanitarian, an Olympic and twice heavyweight champion of the world, 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,” added the post.
His family said that “they are grateful for the effusion of love and prayers, and ask for privacy kindly while we honor the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call us.”
Foreman became an Olympic gold medalist in 1968 when he defeated Jonas čepulis of the Soviet Union in the Olympic Games in Mexico City that year.
But Foreman was more prominently known for his great games against other legendary boxers Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier.
Foreman won the heavyweight title with an impressive second round of the Frazier of the Frazier previously undefeated in 1973. He defended his title twice, but then infamously lost his first professional game against Ali in the iconic 1974 game called “Rumble in the Jungle”. That party was fought in Kinshasa, Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Foreman then retired after a defeat against Jimmy Young in 1977, but returned to boxing in 1994 at age 45. On his return, Foreman won the unified Titles of the AMB, IBF and the linear heavyweight championship.
After successful fighting in his second period, at 46 years and 169 days, he became the oldest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. Foreman is also the oldest boxer to win the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the main honors and the second oldest in any kind of weight.
Then he retired forever in 1997 at the age of 48, with a final record of 76 victories, with 68 by knockout, and only 5 losses.
In his career after the box, Foreman became a successful entrepreneur when he authorized his similarity with the Salton, Inc. appliance company, now known as Russell Hobbs Inc., to launch the George Foreman grill, a laptop electric grill that became a common domestic apparatus.
