(FILES) Referee Joe Cortez (R) holds George Foreman’s arm up in victory after Foreman knocked Michael Moorer out within the tenth spherical of their scheduled 12 spherical IBF/WBA heavyweight title struggle, on November 5, 1994 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, who fought an iconic battle with Muhammad Ali earlier than later reclaiming the title 20 years later, died March 21 aged 76, his household introduced in a press release.| AFP Picture
HOUSTON — George Foreman was remembered Monday in a memorial service in his hometown of Houston for his legendary boxing profession in addition to for his love of God, household, horses and cheeseburgers and for his want to assist his fellow man.
“He preached love on a regular basis. That’s what this life is all about. It’s all about love and George was pure as a result of George lived and believed what he preached,” mentioned James Douglas, a longtime good friend and former president of Texas Southern College in Houston.
Throughout an almost 1½ hour memorial service, Foreman’s household and buddies recalled anecdotes a couple of man who was a two-time boxing heavyweight champion however who was additionally a pastor who delivered life affirming sermons at his church in northeast Houston and a savvy businessman greatest identified for the George Foreman Grill.
READ: Heavyweight boxing nice George Foreman useless at 76: household
Foreman even addressed the gang posthumously on the Wortham Theater Heart, a performing arts heart that hosted the memorial, with audio messages recorded beforehand.
(FILES) Retired pro-boxer George Foreman arrives for the world premiere of “Huge George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the As soon as and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World,” at Regal LA Reside in Los Angeles, California, on April 26, 2023.| Picture by Michael Tran / AFP
“Successful and shedding can by no means guarantee an enduring smile. However saying to the face you see each day, ‘I did my greatest,’ can,” Foreman mentioned on the recording.
Most of the individuals who spoke on the memorial, together with George Foreman IV, one among 5 sons of the boxing legend, highlighted the significance of religion within the elder Foreman’s life and the way God guided his efforts to assist others.
“‘How nicely do I bear in mind how Jesus introduced me by? I prayed, I walked an evening or two. I mentioned, Lord, why don’t you are taking and use me? That’s all that I can do. I give my life to Jesus, what about you?’ That was a tune my grandmother gave to my father. He was going by a tough time. So now I’ve given it to you,” George Foreman IV mentioned as his 4 brothers stood behind him.
Foreman had 12 kids, together with 5 sons who’re all famously named George Edward Foreman.
“Relaxation nicely, dad. We’ll carry your love with us all the time,” mentioned George Foreman IV, who can be a pastor.
READ: 50 years after Ali-Foreman, the ‘jungle’ hasn’t stopped rumbling
(FILES) US boxing heavyweight champions, Muhammad Ali (L) (born Cassius Clay) and George Foreman (R) struggle in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974. Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, who fought an iconic battle with Muhammad Ali earlier than later reclaiming the title 20 years later, died March 21 aged 76, his household introduced in a press release.
“With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr, who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by family members,” the assertion mentioned. (Picture by AFP)
Former boxer Michael Moorer, who Foreman defeated in 1994 to develop into the oldest man at age 45 to win the heavyweight championship, instructed the gang that the 2 went from being rivals to having a relationship “constructed on respect for over 30 years.”
“George was a champion in life. His religion remodeled the shy nation boy from Texas to a profitable businessman and a voice for the much less lucky,” Moorer mentioned.
Dr. Adan Rios, a longtime good friend of the boxing nice, recalled how Foreman purchased land to create a meals financial institution for AIDS sufferers and donated $1.7 million to assist deal with adolescent sufferers with most cancers.
Foreman died on March 21 at age 76. Foreman’s household has not disclosed his explanation for loss of life, solely saying on social media that he “peacefully departed … surrounded by family members.”
Born in Marshall, Texas, Foreman was raised in Houston’s Fifth Ward, one of many metropolis’s traditionally Black neighborhoods.
He started his boxing profession as an Olympic gold medalist in 1968, turning professional the following yr.
Foreman turned the heavyweight champion of the world when he beat Joe Frazier in 1973. However he misplaced the title the next yr when Muhammad Ali beat Foreman within the well-known “Rumble within the Jungle” struggle in Zaire.
(FILES) This photograph taken on October 25, 1974 reveals US boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman coaching in Kinshasa 5 days earlier than the heavyweight world championship boxing match towards Muhammad Ali often called the “Rumble within the Jungle”. Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who misplaced to Muhammad Ali in boxing’s iconic 1974 “Rumble within the Jungle” earlier than reclaiming the title 20 years later, died on March 21, 2025 aged 76, his household mentioned. (Picture by AFP)
Foreman then gave up boxing and after a spiritual awakening, turned an ordained minister in 1978. He started preaching in Houston, later founding The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1980.
The center-aged fighter returned to the ring after a 10-year absence and in 1994 pulled off one of the crucial spectacular knockouts in boxing historical past, flooring Moorer — 19 years his junior — with a surgical proper hand to say Moorer’s two heavyweight belts.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 profession report.
He then moved on to the following chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor.
He turned identified to a brand new era because the face of the George Foreman Grill. The straightforward cooking machine bought greater than 100 million models and introduced him extra wealth than boxing. A biographical film based mostly on his life was launched in 2023.
“Of all of the traits that I might point out, his religion, his household, his boxing profession, his enterprise profession, the one which stands out to me as a good friend of George Foreman, he by no means forgot the place he got here from,” mentioned Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
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