Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor hosted the 2017 McLane Lecture delivered by Olympic gold medalist and two-time heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman. The lecture was held Wednesday, March 22, in the arena of the Frank and Sue Mayborn Campus Center.
Foreman framed his address by telling the story of the day he shared his past with his son.
“I realized that I’d raised a nice boy, but he didn’t know anything about me,” Foreman said, “so I took him on a long ride and told him my story.”
Foreman said that, as a boy, he skipped school most days. Years later, after dropping out of school, he fell in with some young men from his neighborhood who tended to get in trouble.
After an evening spent evading police, Foreman decided that he needed to change his life. He applied to the United States Department of Labor’s Job Corps program. It was during his tenure with the program that Foreman first considered trying his hand at boxing.
“One night I was in the Job Corps center, and a boxing match came on the radio, and after the fight was over, the kids said ‘George, you think you’re so big and tough, why don’t you become a boxer?”
Taking up the challenge, Foreman transferred to California where he began training for the ring. A year later, Foreman found himself competing as part of the 1968 Olympic team in Mexico City, where he ultimately won the gold medal.
“That was probably the happiest moment I’ve ever had as an athlete,” Foreman recalled. “For the first time in my life, a dream had come true.”
Following his success at the Olympics, Foreman began competing professionally.
“One fight after another, I had these knockouts, one after another,” Foreman said. “Then finally they wanted to match me for the heavyweight championship of the world.”
Foreman said that he was reluctant to fight for the title, as then-champ Joe Frazier was one of the most intimidating fighters in history.
“They said Joe Frazier was the kind of fellow who, if you hit him, he liked it,” Foreman remembered. “If you missed him, he got upset.”
Foreman went on to overwhelm Frazier, knocking him down six times in two rounds before being declared the winner and new heavyweight champion.
Foreman also recounted his epic bout with Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle. Foreman was winning the fight for several rounds before he tired and was knocked out.
“Have you ever heard of a rope-a-dope?” Foreman asked the crowd. “Well," he said, pointing to himself, "meet the dope.”
“When I lost that match,” Foreman said. “it was the first time I was ever faced with devastation.”
Foreman discussed several other fights, both those he won and those he lost. Most dramatically, he shared the story of the night that, after losing a close twelve-round decision in Puerto Rico, he nearly died in his locker room. Foreman described the near-death experience as the moment in which he first found his faith in God.
“I jumped off the table and said ‘Jesus Christ is coming alive in me,'” Foreman said. “I screamed, ‘Hallelujah! I’m clean. I’m born again.’”
Following this experience, Foreman quit the ring and spent ten years working as an evangelist. Ultimately, he decided to return to fighting to support his family and his ministry.
In 1994, Foreman was given the chance to challenge Michael Moorer for the world championship. Foreman, then 45 years old, trailed Moorer for nine straight rounds. However, in the tenth round he landed a knockout punch and became the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
Foreman closed his lecture with some words of wisdom for the students in attendance.
“All of you have got the world right in your palms now. Learn all you can,” Foreman said. “Your life is before you, and you can do whatever you want, but believe God and put him first.”
The McLane Lecture brings internationally recognized speakers to UMHB each year to share their experiences and insights about leadership, government, and business. The annual lecture is offered through the generosity of Temple residents Elizabeth and Drayton McLane Jr.
