George Foreman had a decorated and record-setting career, but he has managed to pick one standout moment from it all.
American heavyweight ‘Big George’ was on the scene for almost thirty years. Between his debut in 1969 and his retirement in 1997, he had some 81 fights against legendary names.
Joe Frazier twice, Ken Norton, and of course, Muhammad Ali who he fought in October 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a night that was famously dubbed The Rumble in the Jungle.
Though he was on the losing end of that one having been hooked in by Ali’s so-called rope-a-dope style, Foreman came back to become the oldest man to ever become a two-time world champion when he cleaned out Michael Moorer in 1994 to lift the WBA, IBF, and lineal titles a full decade after first becoming champion in the 1970s.
Foreman, now as well known for his grills and TV punditry, was asked on Twitter “What’s the 1 memorable moment that has stayed with you? One that brought you back down when you needed to centre?”
He replied saying “Loved being happy with winning the Gold medal at the Olympic [sic]; just plain old happy.”
Loved being happy with winning the Gold medal at the Olympic; just plain old happy https://t.co/nARdmRLPjo
— George Foreman (@GeorgeForeman) August 19, 2023
The gold medal came in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico.
Foreman defeated the Soviet Union’s Jonas Čepulis by second-round knockout having opened up a cut in the first round. He turned professional just a year later but still maintains the Olympic medal was his proudest achievement.