Few athletes have lived a life as dramatic as George Foreman. The legendary professional, boxer, entrepreneur, minister, and author, isn’t just a heavyweight champion but a man who reinvented himself many times and never gave up no matter what challenges he faced. A dominant force in the world of boxing and sports, he made several unlikely decisions just when the world thought they had figured him out, leaving spectators surprised.
Well, given the extraordinary career and life he led, both in the boxing ring and outside of it, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood rushed in for the rights to a film. Thus, Big George Foreman came about, Sony’s take on the film with the legendary boxer himself attached to the film. An attempt to capture the brilliance of the legend and his journey from rock-bottom failure to displaying some of the most magical feats inside the ring, the film, no doubt, is inspiring. Yet, even the most perfect of biopics have their faults.
Just like every other project or biopic, the film takes enough creative liberties for the sake of the plot, and drama. While it did introduce the audiences to the larger-than-life figure of Foreman and his prolific career, it did occasionally exaggerate several key details and moments. While the legend has passed on, his feats remain behind, with Big George Foreman serving as an inspiration to those who continue to look up to him even today.
So, without further ado, here is all you need to know about the biopic, how accurate it is, and what makes it worthwhile.
What is Big George Foreman about?
Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World or Big George Foreman is a 2023 biographical film about the life and journey of George Foreman. The legendary world heavyweight boxing champion led an extraordinary life.
While his journey began in Houston in poverty, his teens were troublesome years since he ended up being a mugger after dropping out of school. Later on, he went on to sign up for Job Corps, eventually ending up inside the ring as a boxer. The movie details all this and how he quit the sport for over ten years, ending up being a preacher. At the age of 45, he made his return to the ring, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
The film stars actor Khris Davis as Foreman, Sullivan Jones as Muhammad Ali, Jasmine Mathews as Mary Joan, Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Archie Moore, and more. It was directed by George Tillman Jr., who co-wrote the screenplay by Frank Baldwin, based on a story by him, Baldwin, and Dan Gordon.
Big George Foreman: Fiction or fact?
Directed by George Tillman Jr., the filmmaker is renowned for The Hate U Give and the biopic Notorious. Seeing his past work, the filmmaker was more than apt to deal with such a project, yet many have noticed several discrepancies in Big George Foreman.
While Foreman himself served as executive producer, it was a mammoth of a task for Tillman, who recalled to RadioTimes that it was hell in the editing room.
While the film remained as truthful as biopics generally go, here are several fictional elements found in the biopic:
- Despite being a biopic, Big George Foreman has several characters OG in the film. One such character is John Magaro’s Desmond Baker. In the film, he is seen as Foreman’s bunkmate at the Job Corps but is neither a real person nor based on a person present in Foreman’s real life. Since in the film Baker ends up managing Foreman’s money, his addition had severe implications for the OG tale.
- Goerge Foreman grew up in abject poverty, but like any other child, he had more than one dream he wanted to achieve. While in the biopic, it is shown that boxing was the only thing he was attracted to, sports-wise, in real life, he had more than a few athletic interests. The biopic did not focus on his wanting to be a football player, which was what the legend initially wanted, following the footsteps of his football idol, the NFL player Jim Brown.
- As crazy as it might seem, Big Goerge Foreman, not only invented characters but his first wife in the movie is actually fictional as well. The woman named Paula, who is shown as his first wife, did not really exist in real life, even though she plays more than a vital part in his life, from his journey from the ring to the church. George Foreman’s first wife was Adrienne Calhoun, with whom he was married from 1971 to 1974.
- As tumultuous as his career was, George Foreman had an equally or even more troubled love life. He was married several times in his life, first to Adrienne Calhoun from 1971 to 1974, Cynthia Lewis from 1977 to 1979, Sharon Goodson from 1981 to 1982, and Andrea Skeete from 1982 to 1985, and then Mary Joan Martelly from 1985 to his death in 2025. However, the biopic does not go into detail about his other marriages, instead showing only his fictional wife Paula and then his last marriage to Martelly.
- A small and easily overlooked fact, the biopic details that George Foreman left the sport of boxing altogether during his pursuit of God and the church. However, that did not really happen in real life since Foreman did not really leave boxing but stopped fighting when he took his 10-year-long break from the sport.
- Big George Foreman shows that grandmother and grandson approach him to train the young boy as a boxer, but Foreman instead guides him to God. Later he gets to know that he has been imprisoned for robbery which drives him to open his youth center. But in real life, it was a mother-son duo and his brother Roy who had informed the boxer of the young boy and his arrest. This event, although seemingly insignificant, ended up inspiring Foreman to make a return to the ring.
- In the movie, it is shown that it was Desmond who was responsible for Foreman’s depleted funds, but in reality, it was a culmination of several financial decisions and his investment in the youth center that caused the legend the majority of his savings.
- The Rumble in the Jungle against Muhammad Ali in Zaire played a significant role in George Foreman’s life, making the undefeated champion face the first major defeat of his career. While the biopic accurately depicts the decisive battle, it exaggerates certain aspects of the fight, especially the psychological implications.
- George Foreman made a brilliant return to the ring after 10 years and went on to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history at 45. While the film accurately depicts his return and the fight, many feel it simplifies certain aspects of his training and glosses over some of his less successful bouts, making it seem like his return was more of a smooth journey, but in reality, it was filled with challenges and was far from easy.
Big Goerge Foreman remains a vital part of the late boxer’s legacy
Despite the major changes listed above, Big George Foreman does an excellent job of portraying various other aspects of the late legend’s life. Events and instances like his ventures outside the ring, particularly the George Foreman Grill, were depicted right even though the film did not fully explore these aspects of his life.
Even with dramatization, simplification, exaggeration, and invention, the film captures the true essence of George Foreman’s life, from a feared knockout artist to a beloved figure of resilience and redemption. While the world mourns his loss, the film serves as a lesson as to what hard work, resilience, and never giving up can achieve.
The two-time heavyweight champion, passed away at the age of 76, on March 21, 2025. Nicknamed ‘Big George,’ he might have left this mortal world, but his legacy lives on, as a devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, who lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose (via Instagram).
Big George Foreman is available to be streamed on Netflix.
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