Went from ring thrills to hot grills

BY THE time he retired aged 48 in 1997, Foreman had won all but five of his 81 fights with 68 of those victories by knockout, an impressive record lending its weight to the theory that he was the hardest punching heavyweight of all time.

- George Foreman

The son of Nancy and brought up by stepfather JB Foreman, a railway construction worker, life didn't start off on the right track for a young George, who left school at 15 and made a living mugging fellow residents in Marshall, Texas.

Thankfully he convinced his mother to sign him up on a government scheme to learn carpentry and moved to California.

It was in the Golden State that a 6ft 3in, 18st Foreman took up boxing, and at 19 won gold at the Olympics at Mexico City in 1968.

A dramatic turnaround from a childhood of crime and poverty, Foreman was hungry for even more success, so he immediately embarked on a professional career in boxing, fighting monthly bouts, working his way up to the prize fights he would become famous for.