Foreman, George (1948– )

US heavyweight boxer who was the undisputed world heavyweight champion 1973–74. He turned professional after winning the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games. Foreman had retired from boxing in 1977, but returned to the sport in 1987. In November 1994, at the age of 45, Foreman became the oldest world heavyweight champion when he knocked out Michael Moorer to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title belts. He was stripped of his WBA title in 1995 and his IBF title a year later, in both cases refusing to fight the official challenger. He retired in 1997, 28 years after making his professional debut. In total, he won 76 of his 81 professional fights, knocking out or stopping his opponents in 68 of them.

Career highlights

Professional record (1969–97) fights: 81; wins: 76 (68 inside the distance); draws: 0; defeats: 5

Olympic Games gold heavyweight 1968

World heavyweight champion 1973–74

WBA heavyweight champion 1994–95

IBF heavyweight champion 1994–96

After retiring as a fighter, he was involved in several business ventures, most notably his line of electric grills which became famous around the world.