Cliff Notes – How boxing legend became cultural icon
- Foremans love for Ali is how boxing legend became cultural icon
- George Foreman died 22nd March 2025.
- George Foreman’s defeat to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle marked a turning point in his career, leading to a transformation from a resentful fighter to a friend and admirer of Ali.
- Foreman’s remarkable comeback at age 45, where he became the oldest heavyweight champion, sparked a successful entrepreneurial venture with the George Foreman Grill, generating over $200 million.
- Known for his self-deprecating humour, Foreman transitioned into a cultural icon, using his platform to engage in both acting and product endorsements, while maintaining a light-hearted approach to his past.
George Foreman: From fighting in ring to fighting fat in kitchen – how boxing legend became cultural icon
The iconic fight that devastated and defined George Foreman became the making of his reinvention.
The Rumble in the Jungle not only saw Muhammad Ali reclaim the world heavyweight belt but diminished his previously unbeaten rival’s aura of invincibility.
Rumble in the Jungle
So, synonymous with a bruising setback, there was resentment to shake off – deepened by taunts as brutal as the punches.
“Is that all you got George?” Ali said, wearing down Foreman with rope-a-dope tactics.
The withering put-downs and punching ferocity that night in Kinshasa in 1974 engrossed and connected an analogue world.
But when you are the loser in one of the greatest sporting contests in history there are constant reminders of hitting the canvas for the first time.
“It was real painful to watch,” Foreman told US News in 2023. “Then I’d watch it because I started teaching other boxers about boxing techniques.”
And the resentment and enmity was eventually replaced with admiration for Ali – connected by a bout for the ages. Their legacies intertwined.
“It became something that I had in common with the great Muhammad Ali, we became the best of friends,” Foreman said.
It was Ali who urged Foreman to come out of a retirement that produced the first reinvention – becoming an ordained minister.
“I’m a preacher now and am not coming back,” Foreman recalled telling Ali.
The response evoked Foreman’s religious awakening: “Remember what David did to Goliath? You can come back and fight for God.”
Setting a template for celebrity endorsements
Camaraderie grew from the rivalry, but Foreman waited until Ali’s retirement to make his comeback in 1987 after a decade away.
Inspired, at 45, to reclaim belts, Foreman in 1994 floored Michael Moorer – almost two decades his junior – to become the oldest world heavyweight champion.
It was the launchpad for another reinvention as an entrepreneur by lending his name to what became a household staple – the George Foreman Grill.