A legendary former Heavyweight Champion boxer known affectionately as "Big George", George Foreman stands in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and is the name and face of the famous George Foreman grill. Ranked by The Ring as the greatest puncher of all time, Foreman was particularly ruthless in the ring. At 6 ft 31/2 in, he overpowered many of his opponents - recording an impressive 76 career wins in 81 professional fights. Foreman incredibly won his first forty fights, leaving the likes of Chuck Wepner, Jack O'Halloran, George Johnson, Joe Frazier and Ken Norton for dust. His next match though would see him take on the great Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle" of 1974. He was knocked out in the eighth round to lose his lineal heavyweight title.
Ranked by the International Boxing Research Organisation as the eighth-best heavyweight of all time and by The Ring in the 25 Greatest Fighters of the Past 80 Years, Foreman is positioned at the forefront of boxing history. Armed with an amateur record of 16-4 and a series of junior and amateur accomplishments to his name, the 1968 Summer Olympic Games were the first opportunity for the then amateur boxer to make his name in the ring.
He didn't disappoint as he fought his way into the final, knocking out Soviet fighter Jonas Čepulis to secure Olympic Gold. By 1969, Foreman had enjoyed his first professional bout, issuing a third-round knockout to Brooklyn-based scrapper Donald Walheim. The victories didn't let up either as he recorded wins in his first 32 fights (29 KO) making him the top challenger to the Heavyweight belt come 1972.
In a fight nicknamed the Sunshine Showdown, Foreman challenged the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, Joe Frazier. Despite long odds, Foreman crushed his opponent, knocking him down six times in just two rounds. His first title defence came against Ken Norton who had previously broken Muhammed Ali's jaw but made light work of the fight to make it 40-0 and set up a massive bout with the "The Greatest". Ali was the first and one of just five losses in 81 professional fights for Foreman. Of that, he enjoyed 76 wins, 68 of them by knockout. Though, he was knocked out only once in his whole career, to the best boxer in history. A top boxing speaker with inspiring and entertaining anecdotes from the game, George Foreman is a must-have at corporate events today.
How to hire George Foreman
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring George Foreman for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
When he's at corporate events, George is known to cover the following topics:
- How to get up when life knocks you down
- Empowering youth to move off the ropes and into the ring of success
- Selling your brand: the George Foreman grill and the healthy eating revolution
- The art of fighting in business and in life
