A troubled childhood led him down the pathway towards taking up amateur boxing, he earnt success very quickly as he went onto win a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Olympics.
The following year, Foreman became professional which opened up the opportunity for him to compete for the world heavyweight title. He boxed against the then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973 in which he won him the title. He defended the title for two years before his first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in 1974. With losing his title and being unable to secure another, he retired from boxing in 1977 for ten years.
At age 45, Foreman announced that he would be returning to the ring after what he calls a religious epiphany. He went onto return to the heavyweight championship as he defeated the then 26-year-old Michael Moorer which won him the WBA, IBF and lineal titles. After 76 wins, 68 knockouts and only 5 losses, he returned to retirement at the age of 48.
Following retirement, Foreman became a ringside analyst for a total of 12 years. Also a successful entrepreneur, he is also known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill in which he sold his naming rights to for $138 million.
Even today, George is the oldest world heavyweight champion in history, leading him to be inducted into the World and International Boxing Hall of Fame. A highly regarded heavyweight, the International Boxing Research Organisation rates him as the eighth greatest of all time.
Successful within both sport and business, George Foreman is an established and motivational figure across a variety of topics. A strong and determined man who is not one for giving up makes for the perfect combination to create for a great motivational speaker.
