With a crushing knockout of Michael Moorer, 19 years his junior, George Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history on November 5, 1994. The win capped a remarkable career in which Foreman regained the title 21 years after first winning it.
George Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 45 when he defeated Michael Moorer in November 1994.
With a punch as big as his native Texas, Foreman won Olympic gold in 1968, quickly establishing himself in the pros as one of the sport’s premier knockout artists, earning 68 of his 76 wins by way of KO.
Foreman first became heavyweight champ on January 22, 1973, when he knocked out the previously undefeated Joe Frazier.
It took Foreman but two rounds to dispatch of Frazier, himself an all-time great, putting him on the canvas six times in the process.
The following year, Foreman would battle Muhammad Ali in one of the most celebrated fights in boxing history: “The Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire.
It was a legendary war of attrition, with Foreman hammering away at the body of Ali, who would later admit that he was out on his feet on two separate occasions during the bout.
Nevertheless, Ali would knock Foreman out in the eighth round, becoming the only opponent to ever stop him in the ring.
After retiring in 1977, Foreman would embark on the second phase of his career a decade later, beginning his pro comeback in 1987.
Seven years later, Foreman would make history by taking the heavyweight championship from Moorer at the age of 45.
Along the way, Foreman managed to earn almost as much success outside the ring as in it: His endorsement of the George Foreman Grill has resulted in sales of more than 100 million units.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.
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