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Boston Globe
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
George Foreman and the art of the comeback
But Foreman came to embody a famous quote by another George — writer George Eliot: 'It's never too late to become who you might have been.' That's something to remember as this nation, under the control of a lawless convicted felon president, navigates its most difficult and uncertain period in modern times. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up What attracted people to Foreman was his comeback story. When many had forgotten about him, he returned to the boxing ring in his late 30s and, at 45, became the oldest person to win the heavyweight championship when he Advertisement By that point Foreman had found religion and a ministry in his native Texas. He was a man transformed. His menacing demeanor, which could intimidate opponents before he ever threw a punch, had been replaced by an ever-present smile. For many, he was best known as the affable pitchman of what became the ubiquitous George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine — the George Foreman grill — which sold millions and made Foreman a wealthy man. In interviews he was self-effacing. When Foreman, a father of 12, was Foreman hosted 'Saturday Night Live,' was a popular guest on Advertisement By refusing to be trapped in the faded memories of his earlier years, Foreman reinvented himself as something greater. In his book, 'George Foreman's Guide to Life: How to Get Up Off the Canvas When Life Knocks You Down,' he wrote, 'Who you take advice from says a lot about who you are. I have been a few different people in my life, but I now have a person who I respect and trust: me. And until you reach that place in life you are at the mercy of fate.' Foreman's life is a reminder that even our lowest moments cannot last forever. Along the way, he became something that now seems quaint because it no longer exists — a universally beloved public figure. In these acrimonious times, even Dolly Parton, as close to a secular saint as we have, has been targeted by conservatives because of her support of the LGBTQ community. But President Foreman steered clear of politics, making it easier to avoid the pitfalls of ideologies. He was equally comfortable on the Christian Broadcasting Network and 'Late Night with David Letterman.' But it's Foreman's comeback and reinvention that will continue to loom as large as he once did over his opponents in the ring. By spurning others' definitions of who he should be, he was freed to reinvent himself as he saw fit. From a kid who grew up hard in Houston to a two-time heavyweight champion to a beloved pitchman, Foreman accepted no arbitrary limitations. Advertisement To move beyond the darkness, one has to be courageous enough to meet the moment and see in ourselves what others cannot. Fear can be paralyzing. But what's worse is the late realization that we could have done more to change not just the narrative, but lives directly impacted. As Foreman said, anything less leaves us at 'the mercy of fate.' In this dangerous and fraught time, we can still work toward a just and better world — but only if we recognize that it's not too late for this nation to become what it always should have been. Renée Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
CBC
24-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
George Foreman's famous grill wasn't always a knockout
When heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman signed a profit-sharing deal in 1994 on the kitchen appliance with which he would become synonymous, his expectations were modest. Foreman was already being courted by blue-chip companies, who paid money up front. The outlook didn't improve when the second royalty cheque for what would be named the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, paid just $2,500 US — less than the first cheque. "I just signed the contract so I could get 16 free grills for my homes, my training camp, my friends, my mom, cousins and other family members," he wrote in the 2009 book Knockout Entrepreneur, co-written with Ken Abrams. "That's all I really expected to get out of the grill deal." In the same book, he admitted he had ignored the test product sent to his home. It was only after his wife Joan extolled its virtues that Foreman put pen to paper. Just a few short years later, the CEO of Salton, the company that bought the grill, estimated that Foreman was earning more than $4 million in monthly royalties. The company bought him out in 1999 — wisely not severing Foreman's name or removing his ever-smiling image from the product — in a deal reported to have paid him about $160 million, mostly in cash. The total was at least three times more than his career boxing earnings — and Foreman earned more than the vast majority of fighters. Rick Cesari, who worked on the grill's direct response marketing campaign, estimated that by 2011, the product was in some 15 per cent of American households. For the second time, Foreman — whose death at 76 was announced by his family on Friday night — wildly exceeded expectations. 'Santa Claus in boxing trunks' F. Scott Fitzgerald famously mused about "second acts in American lives," and Foreman's reinvention was like few ever seen. Foreman grew up in Houston's hardscrabble Fifth Ward, but squandered a lot of good will after winning a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. By the time he lost the heavyweight title in a stunning 1974 knockout to Muhammad Ali in Africa, Foreman rarely smiled, and was an intimidating presence who often sneered at reporter questions. Foreman experienced what he characterized as a born-again experience in 1977 and retired, preaching on Houston streets before sermonizing at the Pentecostal Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Near poverty once again, he got back in the ring in 1987, in large part to earn money for the church and its youth community centre. Few hardened boxing observers took his comeback seriously, but Foreman persevered, with a new, positive disposition. "The old George Foreman smoked, drank, chewed and swore," wrote famed Los Angeles Times sportswriter Jim Murray in 1990. "The George Foreman we all know today is a Santa Claus in boxing trunks." At nearly 46, Foreman stunned the much younger Michael Moorer to win a heavyweight belt nearly 20 years to the day he lost to Ali. Even as he succeeded in the ring, Foreman was vocal about his battle with the bulge. He was weighing in for fights anywhere from 20 to 50 pounds heavier than during his 1970s bouts. Madison Avenue heard him, and there would be Foreman-centred campaigns with McDonald's, Doritos, Oscar Mayer and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Infomercial heyday As that was taking place, shopping channels were flourishing on cable television. Local TV channels that once signed off with the national anthem were now increasingly filling post-midnight slots with infomercials for various gadgets and products for the kitchen, garage and home gym. Inventor Michael Boehm began to sense a trend for health-conscious food in the late 1980s, he told Inventors Digest in a 2015 interview, and he eventually struck a deal for one of his creations, a steam grill acquired by Hamilton Beach. That product launched in 1991, but sales were merely OK. Salton and others took to marketing panini, taco, bagel and fajita makers, which also didn't hit paydirt. After Boehm worked up a prototype for a subsequent, fat-reducing grill, nine companies passed, he said, including Salton on its first look. "There's not one person that I can think of [who] had any enthusiasm for it," Boehm told Inventors Digest. Salton reconsidered in 1994; a modification that slanted the clamshell device to let grease slide down into a drip tray was considered key. Salton needed a spokesperson, and they eventually landed on Foreman. Not in a position of strength relative to a proven marketing force, the deal saw Salton agree to 40 per cent of any profits, with 45 per cent going to Foreman, and the rest taken by the agents who got the two sides together. Foreman the Dad emerges victorious Foreman hawked the product at influential industry trade shows, while Salton also created the George Foreman Grilling Show, a 30-minute infomercial that featured clips they had purchased the rights for, and which played on Foreman's prowess in the boxing ring. Sales into 1996 were respectable, but not earth-shattering. But market research was telling its own tale, according to Cesari. "After the first test, we discovered that between 60 and 70 per cent of our target audience were females who lived in households earning $55,000 a year and were college educated," he wrote in the 2011 book Buy Now: Creative Marketing That Gets Customers to Respond to You and Your Product. "Not exactly the crowd known to take an interest in boxing." The infomercial was retooled to include less pugilism, and more shots of Foreman as an everyman who could be your neighbour, grilling and interacting amiably with several members of his brood. (He was father to 12 kids in all.) "The best spokesperson for a product is one who has used the product and genuinely believes that consumers can benefit by using it, too," wrote Cesari. "The magic is getting the spokesperson to convey the 'believability' to an audience, be it online, on television or radio, or in print." That magic, according to Leon Dreimann, Salton's CEO at the time, first occurred when Foreman appeared on the QVC shopping channel in 1996. During a rare moment of idle time in the 30-minute demonstration, Dreimann told Fortune in 2003, Foreman "patted his belly, took a roll, grabbed a burger, and he started eating." QVC was soon flooded with calls. "It was so spontaneous," said Dreimann. "It was a real reaction. People saw that he eats what he sells." Launch of a grilling empire The product achieved liftoff, but QVC didn't reach all audiences. Former Salton executive Barb Westfield would tell Cesari for his book that another impactful moment came when the New York Times printed a favourable review of the grill on Dec. 31, 1997, in time for "all of those people who were going to take the plunge on their [New Year's] resolutions," she said. The product was reasonably priced, with $30 and $60 versions, and easy to use for the vast majority of real-life kitchen dwellers. (In an episode of The Office, Dunder-Mifflin leader Michael Scott burns his foot on a Foreman grill, having kept the appliance next to his bed.) Salton was formed in 1947 to make hot plates and heated serving trays, and endured more than a few periods of peril in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to a 1999 Forbes magazine article. Foreman grill sales soared from $5 million in 1996 to $400 million in 2002, and he would ultimately lend his name to six grilling books. Related products were also manufactured, including the George Foreman Rotisserie, and he didn't balk when actor Jackie Chan was signed by Salton to help push the grill in some Asian markets. But while a public figure can attempt to remake their image, a corporation operates in an arguably even more unforgiving world. Grill sales were accounting for between 40 and 50 per cent of Salton's revenues, but through a series of transactions, it effectively no longer existed by 2010. (A Quebec company that began as Toastess Inc. in the 1940s retains the Salton name, after once having an affiliation with the company.)
Observer
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Observer
Heavyweight boxing Foreman dead
LOS ANGELES, United States: Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who lost to Muhammad Ali in boxing's iconic 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" before reclaiming the title two decades later, died on Friday aged 76, his family said. Fondly known as Big George, Foreman dropped out of school and went on to become an Olympic gold medallist, two-time world champion and legend of boxing. He fought 81 times as a professional, winning 76, 68 of those by knockout. As well as boxing he put his name to the "George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine," appearing smiling and friendly in the TV ads, becoming a celebrity outside the sport. "With profound sorrow we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr, who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones," Foreman's family said in a statement on Instagram. "We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers, and kindly ask for privacy as we honour the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own." Boxing paid tribute to one of its greats. "His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten," fellow former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson posted on X. Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum saluted Foreman as "one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen." US President Donald Trump paid tribute to a "GREAT FIGHTER" whom he "knew well." "He was something really Special, but above all, he was a Great Person," Trump posted on his platform Truth Social. (FILES) US boxing heavyweight champions, Muhammad Ali (L) and George Foreman (R) fight in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974. — AFP Pride to pity Born in Texas on January 10, 1949, Foreman grew up in Houston. At the Mexico Games in 1968, the 19-year-old Foreman bludgeoned his way to the super-heavyweight gold. At 6-foot-4 (1.93m), "Big George" was larger and stronger than the other leading heavyweights of the time. He was light on his feet, but slugged his way through the professional ranks to earn a heavyweight title shot against champion Joe Frazier, demolishing the champion in two rounds. By the time he fought his third title defence over 15 rounds against Ali in October 1974 in Kinshasa, Foreman was unbeaten in 40 professional bouts. He had won all but three inside the distance and had not needed to develop stamina. Ali's "rope-a-dope" tactics exhausted the big man, who lost in eight rounds. The defeat punctured Foreman's intimidating aura, not least in his own mind. "I just couldn't believe I'd lost the world title," he said later. "It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. It went from pride to pity. That's devastating." His campaign for another title shot ended when he lost on points to another contender, Jimmy Young, in March 1977 on a hot night in Puerto Rico. Foreman fell ill after the fight and said he sensed God telling him to change his life. He retired aged 28 and became an ordained minister. When he announced his comeback 10 years later, bald where he had once sported an Afro and flabby instead of chiselled, it seemed like a boxing gimmick. He wrote later that he needed money for his youth centre. Knockout Over the next three years he fought 21 times, mostly against mediocre opponents, winning every bout, 20 of them inside the distance. A big name in a weakened and fragmented division, he earned a title shot against Evander Holyfield in 1991 and then against Tommy Morrison two years later, losing both on points. In November 1994 he faced Michael Moorer, who had dethroned Holyfield. In the same shorts he had worn 20 years and six days earlier against Ali, Foreman was trailing badly when he caught Moorer on the chin in the 10th for a knockout. At 45 years and 299 days old he was the oldest heavyweight world champion. He was stripped of first his WBA title and then his IBF crown for refusing to fight nominated opponents but won three more fights and was still "lineal" world champion when he lost on points to Shannon Briggs in 1997, aged 48, and retired again. — AFP
Times of Oman
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Boxing legend George Foreman dies aged 76
The former boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman died on Friday at the age of 76, his family announced in a social media post. Foreman took part in the iconic "Rumble in the Jungle" match against Muhammad Ali in 1974. Although he lost that fight, he was a two-time heavyweight champion as well as an Olympic gold medalist. "With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr, who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones," his family said in a statement post on Foreman's Instagram page. "We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers, and kindly ask for privacy as we honor the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own." Two-time heavyweight champion Born in Texas in 1949, Foreman took up boxing aged 16. He won global acclaim at the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, where he fought his way to the super-heavyweight gold, at just 19. He subsequently went pro and won his first heavyweight title against reigning champion Joe Frazier. He defended the title twice before losing it to Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire — now the Democratic Republic of Congo — despite being bigger than his opponent, standing at 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters). The loss took a toll on Foreman, who eventually retired from boxing and became an ordained minister. A decade later he returned to the ring to start a run which eventually landed him with his second heavyweight title in 1994. At age 45, he was the oldest-ever holder of the title. Life outside of boxing The legend finally retired in 1997. Out of his 81 professional matches, Foreman won 76, 68 of which were by knockout. Foreman married five times, fathering 10 children and adopting another two. He gave his name — George Edward — to all five of his sons, with the explanation that he wanted them to know: "If one of us goes up, then we all go up together, and if one goes down, we all go down together!" Following his boxing career, Foreman was able to remain a household name in part due to the fact that he lent his name to the "George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine" — a portable electric grill.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Foreman, Record-Breaking Heavyweight Boxing Champ and Grill Entrepreneur, Dies at 76
George Foreman, the legendary two-time heavyweight boxing champion who held titles in his 20 and 40s before launching a second act as the spokesperson for a popular grill named after him, died Friday. He was 76. 'Our hearts are broken. With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr. who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by loved ones. 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,' Foreman's family said in a statement posted to his Instagram account. Born George Edward Foreman in Houston Texas in 1949, Foreman set a record as the oldest-ever World Heavyweight Boxing Champion when he won the title in 1994 at age 45. He previously reigned as champ for nearly two years, from 1973-74, before being dethroned as part of Muhammed Ali's comeback at the iconic Rumble in the Jungle. The same year as his own record-setting comeback, Foreman became the spokesperson for the grill that bears his name to this day, the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. More to come… The post George Foreman, Record-Breaking Heavyweight Boxing Champ and Grill Entrepreneur, Dies at 76 appeared first on TheWrap.
