George Foreman, Legendary Boxer, Dead at 76

George Foreman, the boxer and entrepreneur who died this Friday at the age of 76, had a career that went above and beyond the merely iconic. Had his professional career, which began in the 1960s, ended with his initial retirement from the sport in 1977, his bouts with the likes of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali would already be the stuff of boxing history. Add in his Olympic gold medal in 1968 and his return to the sport in the 1980s — which saw him regain the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles — and you have a thoroughly singular career.

In a post on Instagram, Foreman’s family commemorated his life, illustrating the breadth of his accomplishments: “A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose.”

His last professional bout was in 1997, against Shannon Briggs. After Foreman’s days in the ring came to an end, he continued to be a presence in the sport, providing commentary for HBO’s boxing coverage until 2004. There’s also the matter of Foreman’s influence on fitness. As Victor Mather wrote at The New York Times, Foreman’s return to boxing in the 1980s involved an intense regiment of getting back into shape.

In 1994, Foreman began promoting the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine (aka the George Foreman Grill); in a 2023 essay for Eater, Jaya Saxena convincingly argued that it was as a precursor to ubiquitous modern appliances like air fryers.

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“[C]ooking with the Foreman Grill proved to me that it was indeed possible to cook food that had a little bit of complexity and tasted good,” Saxena wrote.

Over the course of his career in boxing, Foreman won 76 matches and lost five. Of those wins, 68 were by knockout. He is an inductee in both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.