A Legacy Spanning Four Decades – World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association (WBA) mourns the passing of former heavyweight champion George Foreman, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history. Big George passed away on March 21 at the age of 76.

Born in Marshall, Texas, Foreman launched his professional career in 1969 with a third-round knockout of Don Waldheim. Over the course of four decades, he compiled an extraordinary record of 76 wins, 5 losses, and an astonishing 68 knockouts.

Foreman first captured the WBA heavyweight title in 1973 with a thunderous second-round knockout of Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica—a victory that cemented his reputation as one of the most devastating punchers the sport had ever seen.

As champion, he successfully defended his title twice—stopping José Román in Tokyo’s Nihon Budokan and then demolishing Ken Norton in the inaugural event at the Poliedro de Caracas in Venezuela.

Then came The Rumble in the Jungle—the legendary 1974 showdown in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), where Foreman lost his belts to Muhammad Ali in one of the most famous fights in boxing history.

Two decades later, in 1994, Foreman defied the odds and reclaimed the WBA heavyweight championship, knocking out Michael Moorer in the tenth round. At 45 years old, he became the oldest fighter ever to win a heavyweight title—a record that stood for nearly two decades.

Foreman successfully defended his belt three times before losing a majority decision to Shannon Briggs in 1997 at the age of 48, marking the end of a remarkable career.

A true titan of the sport, Foreman was one of the most fearsome punchers to ever step into the ring, leaving behind a legacy that will forever be etched in boxing history.