George Foreman - 1970s Heavyweights

Most people know George Foreman as a salesman selling his famous “George Foreman Grill.” But the big man got his start in boxing winning a gold medal in the Olympics and then going on to smash and crush his way to pro boxing’s biggest title, the heavyweight championship. Until Muhammad Ali shocked the world and knocked out Foreman on October 29, 1974, in what was billed as “the Rumble in the Jungle,” Foreman had won his first 40 fights and annihilating Ken Norton and Joe Frazier on the way to taking on Ali. While “Rope-A-Dope” was introduced in that fight and was key in Ali’s victory, Foreman would leave the sport three years later for a 10-year hiatus only to come back in 1987 and fight 34 more times until he finally left the sports in 1997 at the age of 48. Foreman shocked the world at the age of 44 years when he took the vacant WBO title from the late Tommy Morrison and then in his next fight won both the WBA and IBF titles by finishing Michael Moorer by a vicious KO in round 10. When he hung up the gloves for the final time, George Foreman was 48 years old and had been fighting over a course of 28 years. He is known now for that big smile but leading up to his fight with Ali was one of the scariest and fiercest fighters of his time.