Top 77 George Foreman Quotes

You wouldn’t meet a Joe Frazier down today and then up tomorrow, said hello to big shots then ignore someone on the lower level; he was the most consistent human being. What you see is what you get.

I was a tiger, a good fighter, in good shape, but I was always nervous before boxing matches.

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 wanted to be champ of the world, but I kept hoping something would happen to Frazier. I didn’t want to fight him. Nobody wanted to fight Joe Frazier.

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

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.

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

All the dogs I have are German shepherds from Germany, and I fly them back to Germany to show them.

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 feel that I had been rescued from the gutter by America. One day I was under the gutter, chased by police, thinking dogs were going to get me. I laid there listening to the dogs and the gutter. The next day, there I am standing on the Olympic platform, and you hear the anthem. I was proud.

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

In 1973 I became heavyweight champion of the world with 38 victories, no defeats as a professional. You get to a point where you think you cannot lose. I felt like I had the greatest power with my fists, I was the strongest man in the world.

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.

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

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.

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.’

I think that every boxer should understand he’s on the pedestal for a short span. It’s best that you use boxing and don’t let boxing use you. Use boxing to sell, because people are selling you through your boxing career, so you have to learn to sell yourself, and you’ll never starve.

People are hurt in love affairs and never recover, more than a boxing match.

You got to look nice. If you got 10 kids, they’ll talk about you if you don’t look nice.

The fighters who give it all will be around for next year. Give it all you’ve got. Don’t save anything.

I’m on the record for five losses or something like that, but the one guy who really whipped me was Muhammad Ali. And it taught me one big lesson. That no matter how big and strong you are, you’re going to have to use your mind. You must think things out.

The Internal Revenue Service is the real undefeated heavyweight champion.

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.

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.

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

You don’t have to try to hurt people and be angry to be an athlete.

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

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.

A hero is someone right who doesn’t change.

Sonny Liston stood up to me and actually made me give ground. No one has ever done that to me before or since.

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

I tell my sons all the time, ‘The most important thing in your life is fitness,’ but a lot of fighters go overboard.

Just look at the great Nelson Mandela. He came out of prison and saved his entire country. Some of the best people in the world have spent time in prison.

You may have even an ex-wife or an ex-husband, but you can never have ex-children.

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

When I step into the ring with someone, this has got to be their vacation spot, but my home turf. So I go the opposite side seven rounds doing the same thing. Skipping, skipping, skipping. Then I go seven rounds going both ways. Skip to the left, skip to the right.

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.

You’ve got to keep a dog with you at all times. A dog cannot roam. You’ve got to keep him in the house with you. You can’t have a wild dog and expect days to go good.

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.

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.

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

I dread handshakes. I’ve got some problems with my hands, and everywhere I go, people want to impress me with their grip. To make it worse, now women are coming up with that firm shake. So I’ll say, ‘Gimme five!’ If a boy wants a handshake, I’ll just give him a hug.

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.

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

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.

I’ve seen George Foreman shadow boxing and the shadow won.

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

Preaching is the most original thing I’ve ever done. There’s nothing familiar about it. You have to be brave.

Sports are sports. Its all about how we carry ourselves out of the ring.

You’ve got to keep a dog with you at all times. A dog cannot roam. You’ve got to keep him in the house with you. You can’t have a wild dog and expect days to go good.

Boxing is like jazz. The better it is, the less people appreciate it.

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

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.

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.

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

I get up in the morning looking for an adventure.

Sure the fight was fixed. I fixed it with a right hand.

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

I think that every boxer should understand he’s on the pedestal for a short span. It’s best that you use boxing and don’t let boxing use you. Use boxing to sell, because people are selling you through your boxing career, so you have to learn to sell yourself, and you’ll never starve.

I just don’t know how I was able to be a boxer in the first place without believing God.

We’d always said boxers shouldn’t lift weights. Now I realize some champion boxer started that rumor. I noticed if I did weights a couple of times a week, I would be able to hit that jab a lot longer. After sparring, everybody’s gone, and I sneak into the weight room. Spend 40 minutes in there lifting weights.

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.