George Foreman was remembered Monday in a memorial service in his hometown of Houston for his legendary boxing career as well as for his love of God, family, horses and cheeseburgers and for his desire to help his fellow man.
“He preached love all the time. That’s what this life is all about. It’s all about love and George was pure because George lived and believed what he preached,” said James Douglas, a longtime friend and former president of Texas Southern University in Houston.
During a nearly 1½ hour memorial service, Foreman’s family and friends recalled anecdotes about a man who was a two-time boxing heavyweight champion but who was also a pastor who delivered life affirming sermons at his church in northeast Houston and a savvy businessman best known for the George Foreman Grill.
Foreman even addressed the crowd posthumously at the Wortham Theater Center, a performing arts center that hosted the memorial, with audio messages recorded previously.
“Winning and losing can never assure a lasting smile. But saying to the face you see daily, ‘I did my best,’ can,” Foreman said on the recording.
Many of the people who spoke at the memorial, including George Foreman IV, one of five sons of the boxing legend, highlighted the importance of faith in the elder Foreman’s life and how God guided his efforts to help others.
“’How well do I remember how Jesus brought me through? I prayed, I walked a night or two. I said, Lord, why don’t you take and use me? That’s all that I can do. I give my life to Jesus, what about you?’ That was a song my grandmother gave to my father. He was going through a hard time. So now I’ve given it to you,” George Foreman IV said as his four brothers stood behind him.
Foreman had 12 children, including five sons who are all famously named George Edward Foreman.
“Rest well, dad. We will carry your love with us always,” said George Foreman IV, who is also a pastor.
Former boxer Michael Moorer, who Foreman defeated in 1994 to become the oldest man at age 45 to win the heavyweight championship, told the crowd that the two went from being competitors to having a relationship “built on respect for over 30 years.”
“George was a champion in life. His faith transformed the shy country boy from Texas to a successful businessman and a voice for the less fortunate,” Moorer said.
Dr. Adan Rios, a longtime friend of the boxing great, recalled how Foreman bought land to create a food bank for AIDS patients and donated $1.7 million to help treat adolescent patients with cancer.
Foreman died on March 21 at age 76. Foreman’s family has not disclosed his cause of death, only saying on social media that he “peacefully departed … surrounded by loved ones.”
Born in Marshall, Texas, Foreman was raised in Houston’s Fifth Ward, one of the city’s historically Black neighborhoods.
He began his boxing career as an Olympic gold medalist in 1968, turning pro the next year.
Foreman became the heavyweight champion of the world when he beat Joe Frazier in 1973. But he lost the title the following year when Muhammad Ali beat Foreman in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” fight in Zaire.
Foreman then gave up boxing and after a religious awakening, became an ordained minister in 1978. He began preaching in Houston, later founding The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1980.
The middle-aged fighter returned to the ring after a 10-year absence and in 1994 pulled off one of the most spectacular knockouts in boxing history, flooring Moorer — 19 years his junior — with a surgical right hand to claim Moorer’s two heavyweight belts.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor.
He became known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing. A biographical movie based on his life was released in 2023.
“Of all the traits that I could mention, his faith, his family, his boxing career, his business career, the one that stands out to me as a friend of George Foreman, he never forgot where he came from,” said Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
