Three former world champions became preachers after retiring. Let’s look at the latest, former Olympic gold medalist and heavyweight champion “Gigantic” George Foreman, who has just died.
In January 1973, Foreman detained Master Smokin ‘Joe Frazier, 29-0, in two rounds in Kingston in Jamaica.
On March 17, 1977, he lost to Jimmy Juvenile, being in the twelfth and final round in Puerto Rico.
When Foreman was lying in his locker room after losing, he woke up a spiritual awakening and began to shout: “Jesus Christ comes alive in me.” Then, after the shower, he began to shout: “Hallelujah, I am tidy! Halleluia, I was born again!” He would withdraw from boxing with a 45-2 (42 KO) record and became an ordained minister.
He returned and won the heavyweight title for the second time at the age of 45, rejecting master Michael Moorer, 35-0, at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. In November 1997 he retired with the 76-5 (68 KO) record, fighting Houston in Texas.
Former WBA Master and IBF World Super Lightweight Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor He won his WBA title in August 1980, descending from the canvas in the first round to stop Master Antonio “Kid Pambele” Cervantes, 63-10-1, in the fourth round, in the hometown of Pryor Cincinnati. In June 1984 he won the title of IBF, defeating the Canadian Nick Furlano, 28-7-1, a decision in Toronto in Canada.
After retiring in 1990 with a 39-1 record (35 KO), Pryor underwent demanding times due to drug addiction, but with determination that made him a great warrior, kicked the habit. He became a deacon in the recent Baptist church friendship. The witness Pryor was as he saw Henry “Hawk Hawk” Armstrong, and even took the nickname “Hawk!”
In October 1937, Armstrong won his first World Feather Wweight title, pinking Petey Sarron, 107-21-13, in six rounds in Madison Square Garden.
In May 1938, he jumped the divisions to get the world-class weight, defeating Barney Ross, 74-3-3, in Madison Square Garden Bowl, maintaining the title of a featherweight.
In August 1938 he won the world delicate title, defeating Lou Amber 75-5-7, holding all three titles at the same time. In February 1945 he retired with a record of 149-21-10 (99 KO). Later he became an ordained minister in his hometown of Los Angeles.
“Well, he has his team there and I’m not criticizing anyone, but in both fights his tactics weren’t good,” Peter said in an interview with Sport Boxing.
“It worked out badly because look, if we have a little guy here who can throw, let’s say, a welterweight who can throw a thousand punches, and we have a heavyweight, will a heavyweight fighter throw a thousand punches with him? No.”
“Or maybe he’ll step in and take one good shot? Absolutely.”
“So basically yes, the strategy was just wrong. It doesn’t mean Usyk was better than him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t say anything. You misunderstand the tactics and they are wrong.
“And you know, when you look at Usyk’s structure and what he does, when he distances himself and tries to box an elite boxer who is lighter than you and who is giving away pounds, he will ping you all over the shop. That should be noticed,” Peter Fury said.
Tyson Fury announced his return earlier this year and is expected to have a preparatory fight before the start of his scheduled series with Anthony Joshua. Queensbury promoter Frank Warren recently confirmed that Fury’s next opponent could be announced in the coming days, with the long-awaited fight against Joshua expected to take place later this year.
Usyk remains at the top of the heavyweight division and has been ordered to fight WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel. Warren also confirmed that negotiations for the fight are ongoing.
Fury’s third meeting with Usyk has not been announced. Peter Fury, however, remains convinced that the strategy used in the first two fights determined the result.
Jorge Kahwagi achieved something almost impossible in professional boxing. The Mexican politician retired with a perfect record of 12-0, knocked out every opponent he faced, and finished his entire career in just 15 rounds.
On paper, this looks like one of the most devastating runs the sport has ever seen. In fact, many boxing fans wondered if they even believed it.
Perfect record
Kahwagi turned professional in 2001, despite having no boxing experience. Over the next fourteen years, he set an undefeated record, won regional titles, and never once heard the final bell.
Twelve fights brought twelve victories. All twelve victories were by knockout in just fifteen rounds.
The numbers are tough to understand even now.
Several of Kahwagi’s opponents entered the ring in defeat. Others seemed hopelessly outmatched.
But the record continued to grow as the politician and businessman rose through the cruiserweight ranks without ever being seriously tested.
By the time he retired in 2015 after returning from a ten-year hiatus for one final fight, Kahwagi owned one of boxing’s most remarkable undefeated records.
Why fans never bought it
The controversy surrounding Kahwaga was not in itself. This is how some of these victories turned out.
His last fight against Ramon Olivas remains the fight most frequently mentioned in discussions about Kahwagi’s career. The break came after seemingly minimal contact, prompting criticism from fans and observers.
Doubts have already surrounded previous victories, including the victory over veteran Roberto Coelho.
Whether these doubts were justified or not, the damage was done and many fans never accepted Kahwagi’s record at face value.
WBC
Boxing has seen this before
Kahwagi’s record may be extraordinary, but in boxing there is always controversy when it comes to results.
As WBN reports, while John Riel Casimero faces a fight-fixing investigation in 2025, debates continue to arise in the contemporary era about what happens inside the ropes.
Long before that, Roy Jones Jr. denied winning Olympic gold in Seoul despite dominating Park Si-hun in what many still consider the greatest heist in boxing history.
More than thirty years later, Park returned the medal to Jones.
The Kahwagi case falls into a different category, but the result is often the same. Once fans stop believing what they’re watching, the debate never really stops.
Still one of the strangest
Few fighters retire with a perfect record, and even fewer retire after every knockout victory.
Kahwagi handled both, finishing his entire professional career in just 15 innings, and those numbers remain remarkable.
More than a decade after his retirement, the debate surrounding his record has never really died down.
That’s why Jorge Kahwagi’s perfect 12-0 record remains one of the strangest in boxing history.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
One of the most coveted fights in boxing right now is the lithe heavyweight clash between unified champion Dmitry Bivol and WBC ruler David Benavidez for the undisputed 175-pound crown.
However, two-division world champion Teofimo Lopez believes that the fight could end in a “massacre”.
“The Mexican Monster” has since won the unified cruiserweight crown, but maintains he would be willing to cut weight to face Bivol and claim the undisputed honors.
Speaking on Inside The Ring programLopez renamed Benavidez the “Massacre Monster” when discussing the potential fight, believing the age difference between the two lithe heavyweight champions could be crucial to the outcome of the fight.
“I’m going to call Benavidez a ‘massacre monster’ because, man, [that performance against Ramirez] it was nasty. It’s really nasty, really.
“He [Benavidez] enters its flowering period, while the other [Bivol] is on the way out. You have to think about these things too.”
Bivol fulfilled his IBF obligation by defending his belts against Michael Eifert last weekend, but the WBO ordered him to face mandatory challenger Callum Smith in order to retain the WBO belt.
As a result, it appears that a potential Bivol-Benavidez clash will have to wait until 2027, with Beterbiev also being considered for the trilogy.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Opinions & Features1 year ago
MMA1 year ago
Results1 year ago
Results1 year ago
Video1 year ago
Analysis1 year ago
Video1 year ago
Results1 year ago