George Foreman, heavyweight boxing champion, dies at 76

Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman, known as much for his gregarious personality as his vicious right hook, died Friday. He was 76 years old.

A two-time heavyweight champion, he also won gold at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and later saw success, in his post-boxing career, pitching the now-omnipresent countertop grill that bears his name.

Foreman's family announced his death in a post on Instagram.

"A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose," the statement said. "A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two-time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply respected — a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name— for his family."

No cause of death was provided by his family.

Born Jan. 10, 1949, Foreman was the fifth of seven children and grew up "in the toughest neighborhood in Houston," he wrote in his book "George Foreman's Guide To Life: How to Get Up Off the Canvas When Life Knocks You Down," which was published in 2003. "I didn't have a lot to look forward to in life. At least I didn't think I did. I was hungry all the time; I dropped out of school in the eighth grade; I relied on my size and my fists to make my way."

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Foreman, then 19, had already developed what ESPN would go on to call his "wrecking ball fists," and defeated Soviet opponent Jonas Cepulis. The referee had to stop the fight before the end of the second round.

Foreman won his first heavyweight title at just 24 with a stunning knockout of the then-undefeated world champion Joe Frazier in 1973.

Billed as The Rumble in the Jungle, Foreman’s most famous fight ended in his first professional loss to Muhammad Ali in October 1974. He surrendered the heavyweight title in the knockout loss.

But he would regain the belt after a 10-year retirement in a fight in 1994 against Michael Moorer at 45 years old.

In the pivot to entrepreneur, Foreman saw success in the 1990s promoting the "George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine," a staple on TV infomercials and home-shopping channels, which was known for its ridged and slanted cooking surface that was designed to allow fat to slide off the grill.

"There's hardly a single lesson I've learned in life that didn't come the hard way ... Everyone in life goes through a hard time sometime, but you can't let that define who you are," he wrote in his 2003 book. "What defines you is how you come back from those troubles and what you find in life to smile about."