The history of boxing has the greatest variety of different champions. It is difficult to imagine how many were the best boxers in each weight category for the entire existence of this sport. Nevertheless, always, even from such a huge number of people, there will be that person who is worth paying special attention to. And all because his achievements are truly unique and cause the audience not just respect, but to some extent a special reverence. And such a person can rightly be considered George Forman.
Brief curriculum vitae
George Foreman was born on January 10, 1949 in the US state of Texas.
His childhood passed in an extremely disadvantaged area of Houston, where he had to learn the first skills of wrestling, as this was a matter of elementary survival. At a young age, George was in a gang and was engaged in theft. This was quite an ordinary occurrence, because he was from a large family and grew up without a father. According to his own recollections, after another theft, when his sister's words flashed through his head that nothing would come of him in this life, Foreman decided to start a life in a gang and start all over again. He went to a labor camp specially created for difficult teenagers , received a working specialty and primary education.
The beginning of the boxing path
It is thanks to the government program under the name "Workers' Corps" that George Foreman ends up in boxing. While in the camp, he begins to visit the boxing gym, where the guy set the priority for himself to lose weight and just unwind. After spending just a few fights, doing boxing for just a year and a half, he goes to the Olympic tournament.
1968 Olympics
It is these international prestigious competitions that have opened the world a new name - George Foreman. In the final battle, the American met with the Lithuanian Jonas Chepulis. The result of the match was a victory by George TKO in the second round. He more than compensated for the lack of technology with a crazy pressure and force, physically and mentally crushing the representative of the Soviet Union.
Career in the pros
Six months later, after a triumph at the Olympics, George Foreman, whose weight fell in the heavyweight category limit, turns into a professional.
The debut of the fighter took place on June 23, 1969. By the end of the calendar year, Foreman manages to conduct 12 more fights, in 11 of which he won by knockout.
The period 1970-1972 was marked by a series of 25 consecutive victories. 21 victories - pure knockouts. Thus, the duel between Foreman and Joe "Black Marciano" Fraser was simply inevitable. It is noteworthy that Fraser, going into a duel with Foreman, was one hundred percent favorite, because he was in the status of the owner of two of the most prestigious boxing belts and the only person who was able to defeat Mohammed Ali at that time .
But as His Majesty's boxing showed, George Foreman knocked out Fraser 4 minutes 35 seconds after the start of the fight. At the same time, Joe visited the canvas of the ring 6 times. As a result, the fighter who defeated Ali himself was defeated.
A year later, Foreman defeated Ken Norton, who was also able to defeat Ali. In general, according to all indicators, the era of Forman's rule seemed endless, and the battle with Mohammed should have been a simple formality. But….
Rumble in the jungle
It was with that name that the duel between Foreman and Ali entered history. On October 30, 1974, this epic battle took place in the current Democratic Republic of the Congo. Unfortunately for Foreman, he suffered his first defeat in the pros, losing by knockout in round 8.
Three years later, Big George leaves the ring after losing to Jimmy Young.
Return to the ring
In 1987, George Foreman, whose biography is saturated with the greatest confrontations, returns to boxing again. After 28 fights, in 1994 he went on a duel against the then-champion champion Michael Moorer and won against him! And this is 45 years old! Thanks to this, he became the oldest champion on the planet. True, in 1995 Foreman was stripped of his belts for refusing to carry out mandatory defenses.
November 22, 1997 for Foreman was the last day in boxing. He lost to Shannon Briggs. Not everyone agreed with that decision, but what happened happened.
Life outside the ring
In 1983, George opened a center for helping teens in his hometown of Houston. The champion taught them how to deal with their weaknesses, not to show aggression and so on. He also joined his family. Today he has 10 children. He became a pastor and helps everyone in every way.