Hall Of Fame

Hall Of Fame


Early Days as Thug
In his youth George was a troubling kid, who often bullied younger kids. In his 15th spring he became a feared street fighter in his neighbourhood and earned a reputation of a street brawler and thug. The turn around happened in Foremans life when police chased him, he hid himself in a house and used the filling of a broken sewage to cover the scent from the police dogs. Stuck in a desperate situation that night Foreman pledged for a better living for himself. He later came under the wings of Job Corps, a programme started to help the street kids by Lyndon Johnson. For this Foreman travelled to California. His fighting skills were culminated into art of boxing by Job Corps counsellor and Coach Doc Broaddus.

Impact in the Ring
Once he started to train, Foreman gradually created a name in the amateur boxing circle with an impressive record. For George, his big day arrived in Mexico Olympics in 1968 where he won a gold medal. He made his win bigger when he waved the American flag after his win which attracted a lot of attention across the world. A year after his win in Olympics, Foreman turned into a professional boxer in 1969 and within two years he was ranked No.1 by WBA (World Boxing Association) and WBC (World Boxing Council). In his impressive record of 37 victories, Foreman reduced his opponents into puppets- winning mostly by Knockouts. George Foreman hit the limelight in the world heavyweight championship arena when he was schedule to stand against the world favourite Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica on January 22, 1973. George Foreman knocked out Frazier in the second round which was watched by television audience for the first time on HBO. He twice defended his title successfully, first knocking down Puerto Rican Jose Roman in 50 seconds and then won against Ken Norton in two rounds.

Rumble in the Jungle
Rumble in the Jungle a much hyped fight against Mohammad Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire was first delayed due to Foremans Injury but when he faced Ali he was knocked out. After this fight Foreman turned on and off from the ring but his 1994 comeback was significant for two reasons. Firstly, he was up against the new champion Michael Moorer and secondly he turned 44 at the time of the fight while Moorer was still 26. It took 10 rounds before knocking out Moorer to become the oldest fighter to win the heavyweight title. He retired from the boxing ring again in 1999 and stepped to a second career - Business. Foreman was nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in January 2003 and was inducted in June, same year he was also named as the ninth greatest puncher of all time by Ring Magazine.