George Foreman has done and accomplished more in 64 years of living, than 3 or 4 people might have accomplished combined in one lifetime. Foreman has been an Olympian, Heavyweight Champion, gold medalist, Boxing Hall Of Famer, ordained Baptist minister, author, and entrepreneur. He also has the distinct honor of having 5 sons all named George. He has nicknames for them all so he can keep up with who is who. There is George Jr., George III (“Monk”), George IV (“Big Wheel”), George V (“Red”), and George VI(“Little Joey”).
Foreman has always wanted to have a business venture with his sons, and they combined in a joint venture with Bob Arum’s Top Rank boxing promotions, to form their own promotional company called Foreman Boys Promotions. The company will promote its first event this Saturday for HBO Boxing After Dark. Undefeated WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia will take on former WBO junior featherweight and WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez. In the co main event, up and coming Lightweight prospect Terence “Bud” Crawford, will take on Alejandro Sanabria.
BlackSportsOnline had the privilege of sitting down with Foreman and talking about his new promotional company, his current business ventures, and his future.
***
BSO: So for all of our readers who may have been under a rock, what have you been up to these past few years?
GF: Well lately I’ve been in the Dallas area, and me and my sons have started the Foreman Boys Promotions. Me and my sons wanted to do some promotions in boxing. The idea was to have a family business that we could all be involved in. Now I just follow them around, as they handle the business and it’s been fun. I still do my speaking engagements. I stay on the move, and trying to motivate people to do all they can.
BSO: I know you’ll have your first big promotional event this weekend on HBO’s Boxing After Dark. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
GF: Yes we’ve teamed up with Bob Arum and Top Ranked Boxing. who handled my career when I made my second comeback in the late 90’s. He’s teaching the Foreman Boys Promotion hows it’s supposed to be done. This will be our first promotion with HBO, so I’m really excited. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I have to tough fighters. One who is undefeated in Mikey Garcia, fighting Juan Manuel Lopez. It’s going to be a good, explosive fight, high recognition, so I”m really looking forward to it.
BSO: How did things work out with the Foreman Grills, and do you still keep up with the sales, even though you’re not directly involved anymore?
GF: A few years back, the grill was so successful, that all my partners pleaded with me to sale it to them. I remember I was in the selling business, so I said why not. So I sold my name and the brand Foreman Grills to another company and I’m pleased with how things turned out.
BSO: What is like running a boxing promotional company with all five of your sons? How great must that be?
GF: The boxing promotion part is really interesting, because I got the chance to do something with my sons. They carry their own weight, and I get a chance to listen to them and see what they have on their minds. I don’t have to hand out things to do, and now they have things for me to do. It’s an amazing privilege to get the opportunity to work with your children.
BSO: It must be a hilariously awkward and cool thing when all six of you are sitting in a meeting or roundtable discussion, and someone either or the phone or walking into the room wants to ask George a question, and six different people respond?
GF: It gets odd when everybody starts to yell out George and five of them answer. It’s very funny. If you want to ask someone a question, you better know all their nicknames. It’s hard for me because I have five sons and I had to come up with five nicknames, and then I have to remember every one of their nicknames as well.
BSO: I took time to learn those nicknames myself. There’s Jr., Monk, Big Wheel, Red, and Little Joey!
GF: That’s exactly right. Good job. Yes sir, that’s all five of them.
BSO: What can we expect from you and your family in the near future sir?
GF: I’m going to really dig in and focus on boxing. I eventually would like to find me a big heavyweight to showcase all over the world and be able to promote the Heavyweight Champion Of The World. I’m gonna have me a lot of fun now.
[nggallery id=1071]