George Foreman, a heavyweight boxing champion who returned to the sport to regain his title at the improbable age of 45, and who parlayed his fame and his amiable personality into a multimillion-dollar grill business, died on Friday night in Houston. He was 76.

His family announced the death, in a hospital, on his Instagram account. Roy Foreman, George’s brother, said the cause was not known.

When Foreman returned to the ring after 10 years away, there was skepticism that a fighter of his years could beat anyone younger, much less come back to the top of the game. But in 1994, he shocked the world by beating the undefeated Michael Moorer to reclaim the world title.

Foreman’s career spanned generations: He fought Chuck Wepner in the 1960s, Dwight Muhammad Qawi in the ’80s and Evander Holyfield in the ’90s.

With his fellow heavyweights Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, Foreman embodied a golden era in the 1970s, when boxing was still a cultural force in America. The three great champions thrilled fans with one classic bout after another. Foreman was the last living member of the trio.

Foreman training in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974 for the fight with Muhammad Ali known as the Rumble in the Jungle. Foreman was the favorite, but Ali reclaimed the title, dealing Foreman his first career loss.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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