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1977 would prove to be
a life changing year for Foreman. After knocking out
Pedro Agosto
in four rounds at
Pensacola,
Florida,
Foreman flew to
Puerto Rico,
where he lost a 12-round decision to
Jimmy Young.
Foreman fought cautiously early on, costing himself points, but
as in the Ali fight he tired in the later rounds. Despite nearly
scoring a KO at one point, Foreman could not mount a sustained
attack on the elusive Young, who knocked down Foreman in the
last round to secure the decision victory.
Foreman became ill in his dressing room
after the fight. He was suffering from exhaustion and
heatstroke
and believed he had a
near death experience.
He claimed he found himself in a
hellish,
frightening place of
nothingness
and despair. He began to plead with God to help him. He
explained that he sensed God asking him to change his life and
ways. After this experience, Foreman became a
born-again Christian,
dedicating his life for the next decade to
Christianity.
Although he did not formally retire from boxing, Foreman stopped
fighting, became an ordained minister of a church
in Houston, Texas, and devoted himself to his family and his
parishioners. He also opened a youth center
that bears his name. Foreman continues to share his conversion
experience on Christian television broadcasts such as
The 700 Club
and the
Trinity Broadcasting Network,
and would later joke that Young had knocked the devil out of
him. |
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