He rose from a poor family of seven children in Texas. His single mother had a hard time providing for and controlling George. Foreman had to hide his family’s dire circumstances by carrying a lunch bag without food.
Foreman dropped out of high school at 16. Foreman had the makings of a petty criminal. He joined a gang and used his immense build to intimidate people. Mugging was his livelihood.
His life turned for the better when the 6-foot-4 Foreman joined the Job Corps. This was a programme designed by the Johnson administration to help troubled youth. Foreman spent two years as a construction worker in Oregon and earned his high school diploma.
The corps was his salvation in other ways. He met Doc Broadus, who was a boxing instructor and chairman of the Job Corps centre. Broadus turned out to be a father figure and mentor.
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Broadus noted that Foreman’s build and brute strength could be harnessed. He had a rage that could be directed in the right way. Broadus encouraged Foreman to channel his energy into boxing. Foreman learnt to box and started a rigorous training program. He rose at dawn and trained for seven hours a day.
Foreman began fighting as an amateur in 1967 and was an instant success. He won a gold medal in the Mexico Olympics in 1968. He turned professional soon after that. His march to the top was rapid. He won 32 matches in a row. All but three were knockouts. He was crowned undisputed champion in 1973.
In 1974, he had to defend the title against Muhammad Ali. George Foreman faced Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire for the heavyweight championship of the world. The fight represented a seismic shift in sports and entertainment. Live sports had long been a monopoly of domestic TV operators.
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It was the first professional sporting event that was beamed to a worldwide television audience. The fight began at 4am local time to cater to the American viewers. Over 50 million watched it on closed-circuit TV in cinema halls, which was a novelty then. The sporting coverage that we take for granted today, such as the F1, Wimbledon and the English Premier League, can be traced to the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
Foreman, who was seven years younger, was taller and stronger. His punches were more powerful than Ali’s, but the older man’s endurance won the day. Foreman’s raw strength was worn out after eight rounds. Ali knocked out Foreman in the ninth round, to the crowd’s delight.
Foreman was devastated by the defeat. He was not deterred and miraculously regained the title nearly two decades later. He returned to the ring as a portly middle-aged man in the 1990s. The toned physique had deserted him, but the punches were still fearsome. In 1994, he knocked out Michael Moorer to reclaim the crown at the ripe age of 46.
He retired for the final time in 1997 and decided to use his fame to cement a brand. Salton Inc made cookers designed for healthy eating. It branded itself as a “lean, mean, fat grilling machine”. Foreman’s wide smile and clenched fist were an ideal image.
The grill became a staple in the late 1990s. Over 100 million units were sold. Foreman negotiated a US$137.5 million buyout in 1999 for his naming rights. Foreman wound up making around US$200 million ($267 million) from endorsements.
Investors can be captivated by sports heroes like Roger Federer and Pelé. There is more recurring value in the branding than in the events. ETFs such as VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ESPO) and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) are worthy proxies. These ETFs provide exposure to sports events like the Super Bowl, as well as the endorsements that follow it. Foreman proved that there is more meat in the branding outside the ring.
Nirgunan Tiruchelvam is head of consumer and internet at Aletheia Capital and author of Investing in the Covid Era
