IN THE sad demise of boxing legend George Foreman at age 76, the world has lost a truly multi-faceted personality that strode with ridiculous ease on multiple platforms such as boxing ring, movies, television shows, manufacturing business, clothe-line, and religion (as an ordained church minister). Very easily, anybody could describe George Foreman as a man of all seasons -- which made him not just acceptable but most sought after in every sphere of human life. His was one of those personalities that turned into gold anything they touched. Of course, his first claim to fame was in world of boxing -- as a two-time world champion and also an Olympic Gold Medalist. His boxing stats are just terrific, to say the least. He fought 81 matches and won in 76.

 

His knock-out wins were 76 while he lost only in five encounters. But these details have to be understood in their importance from another angle. George Foreman announced his stepping aside from the ring after having been one of the greatest fighters in history. Ten years later, when he was 45 years of age, he returned to the ring stating that he had experienced a religious awakening, and again positioned himself at the top of the heap in boxing. However, he soon retired again -- without formally announcing it. Ten years later again, something astonishing stopped short of happening when George Foreman started thinking of returning to the ring when he was 55 years old. That did not happen, though. However, Foreman was engaged deeply in his business enterprise to promote what was named as George Foreman Grill of which he sold over a million units, which the buyers lapped up as a support for better health. He had multiple other businesses as well, but was a familiar figure on television and forayed into movies as an actor in quite a few films playing important characters. In one of those films, Foreman played himself -- which the audiences loved, as media reports of those days insist.

 

What made George Foreman special and different from the league was his multi-faceted personality. No matter his massive physical frame, he was considered an affable person who could cut across barriers to befriend anybody -- from powers that be in the White House to the five-year-olds in the street. His polish, his relish of life, his flourish of personality -- all became matters of the legend that got woven around George Foreman’s personality. True, he lost to some of his more fancied rivals, all right, in the boxing ring -- which made those rivals instantly famous. Yet, George Foreman always remained one boxer against whom every boxer of merit wanted to test his credentials in the sport -- including the greats such as Joe Frazier and later Mohammad Ali.

 

What made Foreman’s boxing prowess special was the vast range of punches he had in his trove and which he could recall in any condition and execute with supreme precision. This was admired by every boxer who ever wanted to test himself against the greatest in the world -- that George Foreman was. And thanks to this very quality, he was also the most feared boxer in the ring. Such a man is no more -- though the place and reason of his passing was not disclosed by the family. No matter his demise, George Foreman will be remembered forever by the succeeding generations of human community for his sheer multi-faceted greatness.