Former heavyweight boxing champion George Forman has been accused by two women of sexually abusing them in the 1970s.

The women filed separate lawsuits in a Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday August 24, 2022. The 73-year-old has denied the allegations ever since they were made public last month. 

Also Read: Former boxer George Foreman accused of sexual abuse, rape by two women

Foreman took up amateur boxing after a troubled childhood and went on to compete at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, where he won gold in the heavyweight division at the age of just 19. Soon after, he began to compete professionally and had a career spanning nearly 30 years, starting from 1967 to 1997.

Also Read: Who is George Foreman?

Since he went professional in 1969, Foreman has won 75 of the 81 fights he fought over the course of his career. In the 80s, the man had managed to accumulate a small fortune of roughly $5 million at the peak of his career. 

Foreman retired for the first time in 1977 after a match against Jimmy Young left him dazed. According to the boxer, he had a near-death experience, which led him to Christianity. He became a born-again Christian and for the next 10 years, worked in the faith as an ordained minister. 

The 73-year-old has been married four times: 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. He has been with his current wife, Mary Joan Martelly since 1985. 

Also Read: George Foreman to Mike Tyson: List of 5 greatest heavyweight boxers of all time

The boxing legend has twelve children from all his marriages combined, five sons and seven daughters. One of his daughters, Freeda became a professional boxer and had a win-loss record of 5-1, but retired in 2001. In 2019, she died in an apparent suicide. 

As of 2022, Foreman is worth $330 million, primarily because he agreed to lend his name to endorsing the George Foreman Grill, a stovetop made by Salton Inc.