George Foreman was the world heavyweight champion and boxed in one of the greatest fights in boxing history. Now the 73-year-old is being attacked outside the ring: Foreman is being sued by two women whom he is said to have sexually abused when they were young.
George Foreman is one of the greatest boxers in the history of his sport, the American was heavyweight world champion, in “Rumble in the Jungle” he fought against Muhammad Ali in one of the most legendary fights and lost. At the age of 45, he became the oldest heavyweight champion of all time by defeating Michael Moorer in 1994 – 20 years after he first lost his title. But now the 73-year-old is facing a fight outside the ring: Two women filed a lawsuit against the ex-champion in a Los Angeles court. Foreman sexually harassed the two, who were then minors, in the 1970s and forced them to have sex.
To protect their identities, both filed their lawsuits separately in Los Angeles County Superior Court under the pseudonyms Gwen H. and Denise F. “Denise,” a Los Angeles resident, said in her lawsuit that she met Foreman when she was eight and had sex with her when she was 15, in one instance in a San Francisco hotel room. “Gwen,” who lives in Nevada, said she met Foreman when she was nine and that he sexually abused and raped her when she was 15 and 16, including in a Beverly Hills apartment. She said Foreman told her that if she didn’t comply, her father would lose his job as a boxing consultant.
Foreman is not named in the trial documents, but is referred to as DOE 1: a professional boxer who defeated Joe Frazier in 1973 to become the world heavyweight champion before losing the title to Muhammad Ali in 1974.
Commenting on the lawsuits, Foreman said: “In the last six months, two women have attempted to extort millions of dollars each from my family and I. They falsely claim that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s. Me firmly and categorically deny these allegations.” Pride in his reputation meant “as much to him as my sporting achievements, and I am not intimidated by unfounded threats and lies. I am guided by my faith and trust in God and will always do so. I will with my Attorneys are working together to fully and truthfully expose my accusers’ dealings and to defend myself in court. I’m not looking for an argument, but I’m not running from it either,” Foreman added.
In 2020, California passed legislation that extends the statute of limitations on sex crimes and allows victims of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits decades after childhood incidents. Victims of earlier cases were given a three-year period to pursue civil claims that were not possible under the previous laws. The two women are demanding a jury trial and damages against Foreman and anyone else who may be responsible for the alleged abuse.
Foreman became heavyweight world champion in 1973 by defeating Joe Frazier and successfully defended the title twice. In the “Rumble in the Jungle”, however, the favorite Foreman lost the world champion belt again: In front of more than 100,000 spectators in Kinshasa, he lost to Muhammad Ali by a knockout. in the 8th round. At the end of the 1970s he took a longer break before being crowned heavyweight world champion again in 1994. In 1997, George Foreman finally ended his sporting career at the age of 48 after a controversial loss to Shannon Briggs.
