George Foreman Quotes

If I could take a punch like that, I might have been able to think up a name besides George for all my sons.

Everybody wants to be somebody. The thing you have to do is give them confidence they can. You have to give a kid a dream.

I named all my sons George Edward Foreman. And I tell people, 'If you're going to get hit as many times as I've been hit by Mohammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield - you're not going to remember many names.'

In raising children, life brings forth those things where you do what you should never have done and what I taught you never to do. And when my kids have done those things, I just kind of look at them and say, 'Now you know life.'

Generally when there's a lot of smoke ... there's just a whole lot more smoke.

It embarrasses me to think of all those years I was buying silk suits and alligator shoes that were hurting my feet; cars that I just parked, and the dust would just build up on them.

As long as I'm reading, I'm at home.

My favorite drink is water - the bland one: Evian. I stick with that. I celebrate in the evening sometimes with Perrier. That's why I love coming to California. They're always talking to you about bottled water.

If you learn to sell, it's worth more than a degree. It's worth more than the heavyweight championship of the world. It's even more important than having a million dollars in the bank. Learn to sell, and you'll never starve.

So many of us have loved ones and people we really care about, and the only time we show affection is when they are gone. I have preached at funerals, and you see loved ones who didn't even say hello to dear ones when they were alive. Give them hugs, kisses while they are alive and need it.

My mother was watching on television and she doesn't want me to hurt anyone.

I wanted the world to know where I was from. I wanted to say to the world, "We gotcha." America gotcha.

George Foreman. A miracle. A mystery to myself. Who am I? The mirror says back. The George you was always meant to be. Wasn't always like that. Used to look in the mirror and cried a river.

If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right. I take that one step further. You shouldn't do anything unless you do it right.

It would be hard to throw a punch to someone who wasn't a boxer, who wasn't in the ring, and who didn't have on a pair of boxing gloves and who hadn't been training.

When you're in a single-parent home, they try to give you a good foundation, but by the time you're 4 or 5 years old, from that point on you're pretty much on your own.

The best entrepreneurs have found a way to serve others and as a result discover their greatest fulfillment.

Put your name on something, it better be the best ... you only get one shot.

Heroes always have their scars. Some you can see, some you read about later on.

If you can look in your mother's eyes and she's proud of you, then you're a champion.

There ain't nothing like being in the corner, and the trainer is whispering in your ear and another guy is putting in your mouthpiece. Five seconds to go, the boom! The bell. It's more exciting than looking down a cliff.

Don't be afraid to employ people who will force you out of your comfort zone.

I didn't come back for the money. I just got sick of beating people up for free.

The referee is going to be the most important person in the ring tonight besides the fighters.

If you want to be obsessed to be your best, you must get ride of the negative things that are weighing you down.

Frazier was not a big man at all. Frazier was about 5'9, but he would make anyone run. Put up your dukes and cover up because he's coming. He never backed up from anyone.

Boxing has been the most difficult thing I've ever done. The biggest challenge in my life. I was a boxer. That was hard. Everything else is pretty easy.

Let the other guy have whatever he wants before the fight. Once the bell rings he's gonna be disappointed anyway.

As an entrepreneur, don't follow the crowd; let them follow you.

You've got to have a focus. You just fight for money, you get hurt. You focus on the title, you'll just naturally make money doing it.

As you get better and better working out, there's no one who can keep up with you running. If you don't have a good dog, it's going to be the most lonesome training camp you'll ever have.

I'm a winner each and every time I go into the ring.

You never help others by allowing them to getaway with giving less than their best efforts.

Just take one step at a time, trusting that God still has a plan for you, and He will make the best out of your situation.

You may not realize initially how many other opportunities are wrapped up inside the first one. After you go through the first door, you'll then discover more doors automatically opening behind that one. One door leads you to another door, which leads to another door, and so one. It's like ten other boxes packed inside one box. The initial door that God opens is your access to more opportunities. But you must be willing to walk through the first one to get to the other good things God has for you.

Anytime I can sneak in a moment to fish and ride horses, I'm a happy camper.

I am so happy to be alive. That's the one thing I'd like for people to know. Sometimes people walk by and slip up and say the wrong thing about me, and I'll smile. They wonder why am I smiling. Because I'm happy that I'm alive.

Getting up to Zaire - getting ready to fight Muhammad Ali - I thought this will be a matter of just a little exercise. I'll probably knock him out in three rounds. Two, three - maybe three and a half rounds. That was the most confidence I had in my whole life.

I want to keep fighting because it is the only thing that keeps me out of the hamburger joints. If I don't fight, I'll eat this planet.

When it gets to the part in life where you're more afraid of what your wife is going to do to you than if you box, say, Mike Tyson, you've got to get a new profession. You don't get to be a family. I know why boxers never quit, some of them. They don't have wives.

The Olympic Gold medal in 1968 was definitely the highest moment of my career. It was a dream come true. I was a 19-year-old boy, and it was just amazing to be standing on top of the podium and hearing the National Anthem in the background.

The world is full of people who want to play it safe, people who have tremendous potential but never use it. Somewhere deep inside them, they know that they could do more in life, be more, and have more
if only they were willing to take a few risks.

We fought in 1974 - that was a long time ago. After 1981, we became the best of friends. By 1984, we loved each other. I am not closer to anyone else in this life than I am to Muhammad Ali. Why? We were forged by that first fight in Zaire, and our lives are indelibly linked by memories and photographs, as young men and old men.

The Rope a Dope would not have existed without the Big Dope.

They say I don't fight guys unless they're on a respirator. That's incorrect. They have to be at least 3 days off a respirator.

Don't let any opportunity lead you away from serving God. That's a price that's too high to pay.

I want to tell everybody that there is really a living God.

Without appreciation and respect for other people, true leadership becomes ineffective, if not impossible.

My friends know that they're my friends - even my enemies know that they're my friends.

When problems arise, you will usually find two types of people: whiners and winners. Whiners obstruct progress; they spend hours complaining about this point or that, without offering positive solutions. Winners acknowledge the existence of the problem, but they try to offer practical ideas that can help resolve the matter in a manner that is satisfactory to both parties.

As a matter of fact, there was a period of time, especially in my first career, when that's the only one who would work out with me: my dogs. As you get better and better working out, there's no one who can keep up with you running.

I love the UFC. I love it. If they had had that back when I was coming up, in 1966, it would have been my sport. Man, I love it. And you know what? Nobody would have pulled the rope-a-dope on me.

As a child I was sometimes so hungry that I used to dream that one day I'd get locked in a grocery store.

A Jack Russell terrier? My god. He'll burn you up. They never stop. A German shepherd, you can only go so many miles.

You live and learn. Then you die and forget it all.

'Iron' Mike Tyson is the last boxer who was truly embraced by the media. They followed him around. You didn't know what he was going to do next: bite you, cut you, fight you. When you think about it, that defines him - it was an exciting adventure.

It's great to reminisce about good memories of my past. It was enjoyable when it was today. So learning to enjoy today has two benefits: it gives me happiness right now, and it becomes a good memory later.

When I was a kid in Houston, we were so poor we couldn't afford the last 2 letters, so we called ourselves po'.

If you want it, leave your excuses behind and come and get it

They call it the rope-a-dope. Well, I'm the dope. Ali just laid on the rope and I, like a dope, kept punching until I got tired. But he was probably the most smart fighter I've ever gotten into the ring with.

Growing up poor, I didn't even have a lunch to take to school. Lunch was 26 cents, and we didn't even know what 26 cents looked like. I didn't love school because I wanted to disguise that I was poorer than everybody else.

I respect that you want to protect your niece. You know, I didn't want my daughter to become a boxer. Neither did Mohammad. But Joe Frazier, on the other hand, he had his baby girl boxing in the crib.

Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Just learn from the guys who have already done it well. You need a mentor, a seasoned coach who is willing to share his wisdom and experience with you. Ask someone who has already been successful to guide you.

I think its so good for boxing when a new guy or new blood as we call it, makes a big statement.

All my sons are named George Foreman. They all know where they came from.

Oh, there's nothing more dangerous in life at getting hurt at than love itself. People are hurt in love affairs and never recover, more than a boxing match.

I'm the world heavyweight champion. I consider myself a citizen of the whole world.

Changing your nature is the hardest thing to do. But I discovered that you can be who you choose to be.

I started a youth center in Houston. The kids would come in and want to learn to box; they wanted to tear up the world, beat up the world. And I'd try to show them they didn't need anger. They didn't need all that killing instinct they'd read about. You can be a human being and pursue boxing as a sport.

That's my gift. I let that negativity roll off me like water off a duck's back. If it's not positive, I didn't hear it. If you can overcome that, fights are easy.

You have to keep your goal in mind and never lose sight of it. I envisioned myself winning the heavyweight title for ten years before I actually captured it. If you're not driven to do your best, you'll never reach the level of excellence in your life.

We all think we've got one more boxing match in us, and that, probably, will be the downfall of Floyd Mayweather, George Foreman, Manny Pacquiao. We'll overstay our welcome.

There's more to boxing than hitting. There's not getting hit, for instance.

You want to leave something; you really do. I mean, in the end, statues and all those things, that doesn't mean anything. Leave something that we're all going to benefit from. I think that's what I'd like to do.

In boxing, I had a lot of fear. Fear was good. But, for the first time, in the bout with Muhammad Ali, I didn't have any fear. I thought, 'This is easy. This is what I've been waiting for'. No fear at all. No nervousness. And I lost.

As bad as your situation may be, someone else always has it worse than you.

Being angry and resentful of someone is like letting them live rent-free in your head.

When I was in the ring, you really saw the best of me. Outside the ring, I was really some terrible fellow.

When you speak to a lot of kids, as I've done over the years, you know what to say, keep them laughing, good illustrations and learn to read.

To be successful in life, you must get in the habit of turning negatives into positives.

Everything America should be, Muhammad Ali is.

Forgiveness is that subtle thread that binds both love and friendship. Without forgiveness, you may not even have a child one day.

I know from experience that you should never give up on yourself or others, no matter what.

I don't even think about a retirement program because I'm working for the Lord, for the Almighty. And even thought the Lord's pay isn't very high, his retirement program is, you might say, out of this world.

I'm never without my dog. They would be in every corner of the house, and my wife will not allow me to have any more than that. But I have lots of dogs. I love the dogs. I breed them. I always have a puppy coming. And I show dogs. I show German shepherds.

Heroes have a rough time because they stand up when they ought not to, they speak when they ought not to; they always have to go that extra mile.

Every day, getting up early in the morning before much traffic, my wife takes me 10 miles from home, drops me off, and I have to get back.

I hope to have one more boxing match at the age of 55. Given that demographic at the age of 55 to 65, you've got to make a statement with your life. Otherwise, you are just existing.

The Internal Revenue Service is the real undefeated heavyweight champion.

Boxing is the sport to which all other sports aspire.

All of a sudden, one day, you're this boxer that everybody like, or you're this guy that people pass on the highway and wave at. The next day, you're this guy that everybody want to touch - be in touch with you. Then you think that this is the answer to all things.

Muhammad Ali is a true hero, and the fact there's something wrong with him is his badge of valour. He's a great man.

I'm working for the Lord, and even though the Lord's pay isn't very high, his retirement program is.

I think sleeping was my problem in school. If school had started at 4:00 in the afternoon, I'd be a college graduate today.

If you can maintain that integrity in whatever you do, you can't go wrong. That's what I tell my kids, anyway.

People trust me. I sell sincerity.

Klitschko has had a good career. A lot of his fights have been out of the country as though he hasn't even been invited into the real heavyweight picture in the United States. He's a good fighter. You can't talk about him unless you can beat him and it doesn't seem that there's anyone around who can truly beat him.

After you work out, you have your dog with you. There's no better companion. You've got to have a friend. I didn't like opponents who had dogs with them. Because you know they had a little edge. They have a friend.

I never get upset about what I read in the newspaper. I realize that every human being can make a difference in this world.

I teach kids that want to be tough that their fists are not the way.