Former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, George Foreman, sees his entire life as a series of turning points. From fleeing a life of crime in the streets as a youth to making the reluctant decision to lace up a pair of boxing gloves for the first time, to dedicating his life to Jesus Christ as an adult, Foreman knows firsthand how one small change can have a life-lasting impact.
Perhaps the most critical turning point was when he not only lost a heavyweight bout to Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico but actually had a near-death experience in the dressing room following the fight. What transpired was miraculous.
“I actually died,” Foreman recounts. “I went back into the dressing room to cool off. That’s all. I’m walking back and forward, thinking, ‘You’re George Foreman, you don’t have to worry about this stupid boxing match. You can still be champ. You got money, you can retire and die.’ I was fighting death in that dressing room, trying to keep life in me, walking back and forth. I didn’t want to die in a dirty old dressing room when I had big homes elsewhere. But I lost my fight that night with death. I actually died in a split second. I was over my head. Under me, all around me, there was nothing. Nothing.” When he eventually revived, Foreman said he had an encounter with Jesus Christ, one that led to his abrupt retirement and subsequent decision to become a minister.