George Foreman
The Puncher
- In 1973,
George Foreman defeated Smokin’ Joe Frazier for the heavyweight boxing
title of the world in just two rounds. His record before the championship
was 37 wins and no losses.
- In 1974,
Foreman lost a match with Muhammad Ali (“The Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire) as well as his heavyweight title.
- In 1977,
working his way back to another match with Ali, Foreman lost a match in Puerto Rico to Jimmy Young. After that fight, Foreman had a life-changing spiritual experience
in his locker room. He retired shortly afterward to become a Christian
evangelist and pastor.
- Foreman
emerged from retirement ten years later, at age 37, with the goal of
regaining his championship title. He lost nearly 100 pounds, trained
tirelessly, and acted as his own manager—slowly working his way to the top
of the boxing world.
- Seven
years after emerging from retirement, Foreman’s record stood at 27 wins
and 2 losses, with both defeats being for the heavyweight championship of
the world.
- In 1994,
George Foreman became the oldest heavyweight boxing champion of all time,
at the age of 45. He defeated Michael Moorer in ten rounds. After the
championship, a Saturday night match, Foreman flew back to Houston to preach the next morning before his small congregation.
- In 1997,
George retired from boxing the second time with a record of 76 wins, 5
losses, 69 knockouts.
- George
Foreman holds the title of boxer with the most time in between one world
championship and the next—twenty years.
- In 2003,
George Foreman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and
named the ninth greatest puncher of all time by Ring Magazine.
- In God in My Corner (available May 2007 from
Thomas Nelson), George Foreman writes:
“Don’t look at yourself as a “has-been.” The issue isn’t your age. Nor
does public opinion make much difference. It doesn’t matter what people
say about you, because all things are possible with God. All that really
matters is what God says about you, and what you think and say about
yourself. God can still use you to do great things. But you must first
believe that the Lord wants to use you. You must say to yourself, “My best
days are still ahead. I can do this.” Always see yourself as a person with
a promising future.