Claim: The International Boxing Research Organization rates George Foreman as the eighth greatest heavyweight of all time.

George Edward Foreman -LRB- born January 10 , 1949 -RRB- is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1977 , and from 1987 to 1997 . Nicknamed `` Big George '' , he is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist . Outside the sport he went on to become an ordained minister , author and entrepreneur .   After a troubled childhood , Foreman took up amateur boxing and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics . Having turned professional the next year , he won the world heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973 . Two successful title defenses were made before Foreman 's first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in `` The Rumble in the Jungle '' in 1974 . Unable to secure another title opportunity , Foreman retired after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977 . Following what he referred to as a religious epiphany , Foreman became an ordained Christian minister . Ten years later , he announced a comeback and , in 1994 , at age 45 , he regained a portion of the heavyweight championship by knocking out 27-year-old Michael Moorer to win the unified WBA , IBF , and lineal titles . Foreman remains the oldest heavyweight champion in history , and the second oldest in any weight class after Bernard Hopkins -LRB- at light heavyweight -RRB- . He retired in 1997 at the age of 48 , with a final record of 76 wins 5 losses and 68 knockouts .   Foreman has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame . The International Boxing Research Organization -LRB- IBRO -RRB- rates Foreman as the eighth greatest heavyweight of all time . In 2002 , he was named one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine . The Ring ranked him as the ninth greatest puncher of all time . He was a ringside analyst for HBO 's boxing coverage for twelve years , leaving in 2004 . Outside of boxing , he is a successful entrepreneur and is known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill , which has sold over 100 million units worldwide . In 1999 he sold the naming rights to the grill for $ 138 million .