George Foreman Dead at 76

George Foreman, the fearsome heavyweight who lost the "Rumble in the Jungle" to Muhammad Ali before his inspiring second act as a 45-year-old champion and a successful businessman, died Friday night. He was 76. Foreman's family announced his death on social media. "A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose," his family wrote.

• A native Texan, Foreman began his boxing career as an Olympic gold medalist who inspired fear as he climbed to the peak of the heavyweight division by stopping Joe Frazier in 1973, the AP reports. His formidable aura evaporated only a year later when Ali pulled off one of the most audacious victories in boxing history in Zaire, baiting and taunting Foreman into losing his belt in one of the greatest fights ever staged.

• Foreman left the sport a few years later, but returned after a 10-year absence and a self-described religious awakening. He then pulled off one of the most spectacular knockouts in boxing history in 1994, flooring Michael Moorer—19 years his junior—with one perfect combination to claim Moorer's two heavyweight belts.
• Foreman's transformation into an inspirational figure was complete, and he fought only four more times before moving onto his next career as a genial businessman, pitchman, and occasional actor.
• In his later years, he was best known as the face of the George Foreman Grill, a rudimentary cooking machine which sold more than 100 million units and made him much wealthier than his sport ever did.
• Foreman, who grew up in Marshall, Texas, turned to amateur boxing after dropping out of school and was 19 years old when he won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He was married five times and has a dozen children, including five sons named George, the BBC reports. The reason, Foreman said, is so "they would always have something in common." "I say to them, 'If one of us goes up, then we all go up together,'" he said on his website. "And if one goes down, we all go down together!'"

(More George Foreman stories.)