A Series of Miraculous Turning Points Define 'Big George Foreman'

“At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man’s unending search for freedom.” ~ Lyndon B. Johnson

HOUSTON – Whether it be consciously or subconsciously, turning points in our lives are when an important change takes place which in turn affects our future. One small change, thought to be inconsequential at the time, can open up a world of new possibilities or close the door on a period in our lives we would rather forget. Perhaps it is transitioning between being single and married. A career change, the decision to quit something, or the courage to leave everything behind could be the catalyst for a turning point.

Former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, George Foreman, sees his entire life as a series of turning points. From fleeing a life of crime in the streets as a youth, to making the reluctant decision to lace up a pair of boxing gloves for the first time, to dedicating his life to Jesus Christ as an adult, Foreman knows firsthand how one small change can have life-lasting impact.

Foreman is the subject of a new biopic releasing on April 28th called Big George Foreman. Starring Khris Davis, Forest Whitaker, and Jasmine Mathews, the movie tells the miraculous story of a young man destined for failure who rose to prominence through sheer grit, determination, and the will to win.

I recently sat down with Foreman to discuss the new movie, his rivalry-turned friendship with Muhammed Ali, and the turning points that defined who he is as a fighter, a businessman, and most importantly as a man of God.

I’m sure that you have been presented with lots of scripts over the years, with ideas or suggestions to do your life story. What was it about this one that caused you to greenlight this project?

Well, the people this time who were interested from Sony Affirm, they really were interested in keeping this whole thing alive throughout the years. And that attracted me more than anything. They weren’t going away. They were like me, like a fighter. They just weren’t going to stop fighting. They were persistent about it.

I’ve seen the movie now twice and I loved it both times. What really stood out to me, or one of the things that really stood out to me was (actor) Khris Davis. I thought he was just tremendous playing you in this movie. I’m sure a lot of people auditioned for this role to play you in this movie. In your opinion, was Khris Davis the right choice?

You know the old saying that there’s too many cooks in the kitchen can spoil the whole dinner? He was presented to me by the movie people. And what attracted me most was that he was a Broadway actor. He was a guy who did live acting. He wasn’t some celebrity who was playing the part of George Foreman. He had to get deep and that’s what they learn on stage, to get deep into the character. I love that.

Leading up to the filming of this movie, did Khris spend some time with you just getting to know you and talk about your life to get a feel for who you are?

I think so. Khris came down to Houston to visit with me. I drove him around. We stopped at my gym. We talked and he even went to church with me.He got a good look at me and nobody can be you. But I think because of his acting ability, he brought out some of those moments in my life and he was really on track.

When he came down here to Houston to visit you, did you feel like, oh, he’s checking me out here. He’s watching my every little quirk and mannerism to see who I am so he can replicate that on screen. Did you get that feeling at all?

You know what? I really did. We were just talking as two fellows who had known one another for a long time. It was like we’ve already always known each other. So when he came to visit, we went to the gym. I told him about boxing, things like how hard I hit the bag. He’s looking at me, but I was never thinking that he was observing. Then I saw the movie and realized he had. He had definitely paid some attention to what I was doing.

For me, this movie and your life for that matter, seems to be a series of turning points. And along those turning points in your life, there seemed to be lots of key people. I’m thinking of your mother, your coach Doc Broaddas, on and on and on it goes. Do you see any one of these people in your life as kind of the key person who provided guidance to you throughout the years?

Boy, Doc Broaddas, the part that Forest Whitaker played in the movie, he never gave up on me. If I couldn’t say he was a father, he was just a figure that never let me give up on myself either. He wouldn’t let me go. He kept saying, “You can be champ, George,” even when I didn’t believe it.. He stuck with me along with my mom, who always believed in me, not to be a boxer but just to be a good person.

Do you ever think about, if you hadn’t seen that ad on TV about Job Corps and hadn’t gone to your mom and insisted that you go, and then subsequently you never met Doc, do you ever think about how your life would’ve been different if that never happened? That’s obviously one of those turning points.

One big turning point for me is when I crawled from underneath the house and said, ‘I’m never gonna steal. I’m not going to be a thief. I’m not going to do those things.’ I didn’t know where to go. And then that commercial about the Job Corps program came on, and I felt like I had another chance. If you are looking for a second chance, join the Job Corps. They weren’t lying at all. I got my second chance.

That was a big deal. It was in the 1960s and you’re proposing going from Texas to California. It’s not like you’re going from Houston over to Dallas or San Antonio. This was a big monumental move for you. Were you scared when you went to Oregon?

I was really scared because when I found out about the Job Corps, all I knew was Texas. As a matter of fact, I thought Lyndon Johnson was the president of Texas. I didn’t know he was the president of the United States. And then I went all the way to Grants Pass, Oregon, of which I didn’t know existed at all. These were just two moments, one after or the other in my life that I had no idea about.

A key part of this movie for me, and in your life for that matter, was your conversion to Christ. It’s a powerful scene in the movie. You’ve just lost a match. You’re in the locker room. Your people are around you. And then you basically have a near death experience. Please talk to me about that if you could.

I actually died. I went back into the dressing room to cool off. That’s all. I’m walking back and forward thinking. ‘You’re George Foreman, you don’t have to worry about this stupid boxing match. You can still be champ. You got money, you can retire and die.’ I’ve never heard that word in my life before. I was fighting death in that dressing room, trying to keep life in me, walking back and forth. I didn’t want to die in a dirty old dressing room when I had big homes elsewhere. But I lost my fight that night with death. I actually died in a split second. I was over my head. Under me, all around me there was nothing. Nothing.

Now, you had been exposed to God and Jesus growing up because your mother was a strong believer.

You’d be surprised. But like any kid I thought that religion and all of that was just for people because they were poor. I didn’t know it was real. I really didn’t. My mother used to tell me, ‘Go in the room and read the Bible. You will be a better person.’ I would look at the pictures and come out acting sad. I thought, now she won’t tell me to go back in the room.

At what point did you realize that God had a special plan for your life? Where were you at in your life when you realized that?

After I had that experience in Puerto Rico, I was shaken. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what was left or right. I didn’t know where to go. I never went back into the boxing gym. I was scared to have your life taken from you and given a second chance. Then one day, a guy, a preacher, asked me to come up and give my testimony in church. And I just told the story of what happened. He said, can you do it again? Then I realized that was my purpose in life, to keep telling that story.

And you ended up even doing some street preaching? That’s something I don’t know if I could do. I can stand up in a service and speak, but just being on the street talking to random strangers, I don’t know if I could do that.

Well, there were so many guys in the church where I first attended that were all preachers, standing in line to speak. And all they would ask me to do is give my testimony. I said, ‘I want to preach.’ And some kids walked up to me who had some experience. They said, “I know where you can preach, George.” I said, ‘Where?’ And they took me to a street corner. I had a microphone and they showed me how to do it and everything. And I started that way. I said, ‘Boy, I don’t have any interference.’ I could just preach. All I want is a street corner. Most people would pass you by. They wouldn’t even look at you. Then one day, I tried something. I said, ‘Yes, I’m George Foreman. I was the champion of the world. I fought Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.’ And they stopped for a second and listened to me.

Changing gears, I want to talk to you a little bit about Muhammad Ali.Obviously, the two of you were fierce rivals early on, but then, later in life, the two of you became very good friends. Muhammad Ali is a Muslim. You are a Christian. Did you ever get a chance to share the gospel with him?

Muhammad Ali and I became great friends. We were pretty good friends after he beat me because I was trying to coach him into giving me a rematch. But the second time around, I wanted to be his friend because I wanted to tell him so much about God, what God had done for me. And he listened to my testimony from me so many times and finally he told me, “Enough George, enough. I don’t want to hear anymore.” But I kept with it and we became great friends. We spoke a lot on the telephone. Even when he couldn’t speak that well anymore, we’d get on the phone and crack jokes because he was always smart to the end.

I know this is hard to do, but if you could pick one fight, one matchup that you had as being your favorite or the most important fight you ever fought, what would it be? And I know these are kind of like your children, every fight is like a child.

I lost the title to Muhammad Ali, but I got up at the count of eight and wanted to fight some more. But they stopped the fight. That was hard on me. It was hard to get rid of. So I fought Ron Lyle in 1976. And he knocked me down once. Then he knocked me down twice. And I sat there and thought, what excuses are you going to give now? I had to get up because I didn’t have any more excuses. And I fought and I fought and I remember thinking, you better die rather than lose because you can’t explain to people why you are losing this time. I’ll never forget that fight. It’s most important because I had to fight … not just fear but death. And I won that boxing match, not because I wanted to win, but because I just couldn’t let that guy beat me right in front of everyone else once more.

When you made your comeback in 1987, I guess it was technically your second comeback because you had your first comeback in the 1970s. In your heart of hearts, why did you realize that this was the right thing to do at that moment in your life?

A preacher had invited me to Georgia and he said he would take an offering for me after so many days. He started asking people for money and I got embarrassed. I said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to ask people for money anymore. I’m going back to be heavyweight champion of the world again. That’s where I’m going to get money.’ And then I realized I weighed 315 pounds. I’ve got to lose a lot of weight and I have to fight my way back into fighting shape again. And that’s where the belief came that I could do it.

Final question, after audiences have come to the theater and have seen Big George Foreman, what would you like to see audiences get out of that experience? What’s your greatest hope for this film?

My greatest hope for people when they see the movie is that they come out and at least give Jesus Christ a thought. Give them a chance so they can all learn that we all can become closer to God and find Jesus Christ.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR ‘BIG GEORGE FOREMAN’: