Two women have accused former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman of sexually abusing them when they were minors in the 1970s, according to lawsuits filed this week.
One of the women is described as the daughter of an adviser and manager to Foreman while the second woman is the daughter of a boxer who trained with him, according to the documents.
They are seeking a jury trial and damages against Foreman and anyone who may also be responsible for the alleged abuses. Those additional parties could be added to the lawsuit as more information becomes available in the case, the documents say
Foreman, in a statement Wednesday, denied the allegations.
“Over the past six months, two women have been trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family. They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s. I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations,” he said.
“The pride I take in my reputation means as much to me as my sports accomplishments, and I will not be intimidated by baseless threats and lies. I am, and always will be, guided by my faith and trust in God. I will work with my lawyers to fully and truthfully expose my accusers’ scheme and defend myself in court. I don’t pick fights, but I don’t run away from them either,” Foreman added.
The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, do not name Foreman, but provide identifying details, including that the alleged abuser is “a former professional heavy weight boxer who went professional in 1969″ who was inducted into both the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.” The suits also say the defendant became a world heavyweight champion in 1973 and eventually lost the title to Muhammad Ali in 1974.
One of the alleged victims, referred to in the suit as Denise S., says she was groomed by the boxer “at an early age” and accuses Foreman of performing sexual acts with Denise S. when she was a minor, according to the lawsuit.
The second alleged victim, referred to as Gwen H., alleges that when she was between 15 and 16 years old, Foreman molested and sexually abused her after he “threatened that if she didn’t comply, her dad would lose his job.”
CNN has reached out to the attorneys for both women.
Foreman, a champion boxer and Olympic gold medalist, defended the coveted world heavyweight title twice before losing it to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle.” He took a long hiatus from competing at the end of the 1970s before resurrecting his career once more and again becoming world heavyweight champion, before finally retiring in 1997.
Ex-boxer George Foreman sued by 2 women accusing him of sexual abuse
Two ladies who blamed the American previous heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman of physically manhandling them during the 1970s have documented claims in a Los Angeles court.
Foreman, 73, has denied the charges since they initially became public last month and representatives alluded inquiries concerning the claims to his prior assertion.
The ladies recorded separate claims under the nom de plumes H. what’s more, Denise F. in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday.
The two ladies, presently in their mid 60s, say they initially met Foreman as youngsters on the grounds that their dads were boxing partners of Foreman.
Denise, a Los Angeles occupant, blamed Foreman for preparing her when she was 8 years of age and having intercourse with her when she was 15, in one example in a San Francisco lodging, her claim says.
Gwen, a Nevada occupant, said she initially met Foreman when she was 9, and blamed him for physically mishandling and assaulting her when she was 15 and 16 years of age, remembering at a loft for Beverly Hills. She said Foreman told her dad would lose his employment as a boxing counselor on the off chance that she didn’t consent.
Foreman called the claims misleading and unmerited.
“Throughout the course of recent months, two ladies have been attempting to blackmail a great many dollars each from all of us,” his assertion said. “I don’t start ruckuses, yet I don’t take off from them by the same token.”
Foreman is alluded to as DOE 1 in the claims, however portrayed in them as the expert fighter who crushed Joe Frazier in 1973 to turn into the heavyweight boss of the world prior to losing the title to Muhammad Ali in 1974.
Foreman has since become notable as a business person selling an electric barbecuing machine that bears his name.
The claims were documented as the consequence of a California regulation that came full circle in 2020 that briefly forgoes the legal time limit that had kept survivors of life as a youngster sexual maltreatment from recording common claims.
The two ladies are looking for a jury preliminary and to be granted a vague sum in harms.
