George FOREMAN

George Foreman is one of the most powerful punchers in boxing history. He had little experience in 1968 when he won the AAU title, the Olympic trials and the Olympic Games. At Mexico City he became famous when, after winning the final bout, he took a small American flag and waved it to the four corners of the auditorium. It was especially significant given the tenor of the times and the protests of blacks, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, on the Olympic victory platform. Foreman quickly turned professional and began knocking out fighters left and right. In 1973 he fought Joe Frazier for the heavyweight title and punished him – flooring him seven times in the second round before the fight was stopped. Foreman defended the title twice but on 30 October 1974, Muhammad Ali stopped him in "The Rumble in the Jungle" in eight rounds. Foreman was never a championship factor again. He fought thru 1977 and then retired after several discouraging losses.

But like the phoenix, in 1987, Foreman was resurrected, resuming his professional boxing career after a 10-year hiatus. He was badly out of shape, over 300 lbs. (136 kg.) when he resumed training, and fighting his first fight at 270 lbs. (123 kg.). In 1994, Foreman stunned the sports world by defeating Michael Moorer for the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles, 20 years after he had lost to Muhammad Ali. Foreman held the titles for less than 2 years and retired again after a lackluster win in 1997 against Lou Savarese. He has since become a very popular commercial spokesman. His career record was 76 wins (68 by KO), and 5 losses.