Boxing legend George Foreman is being sued by two women who claimed he sexually abused them when they were teenagers.
The alleged incidents date back to the 1970s when the former heavyweight world champion, 73, was at his peak. According to the lawsuits filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the women, using the pseudonyms Gwen H and Denise S, initially met Foreman when they were under 10 years old.
The former champion is accused of grooming the girls for several years, according to the complaints, before forcing them to have sex with him. The women claim the abuse occurred in places in an apartment in Beverly Hills and a hotel in San Francisco. The two women are now both in their early 60s.
According to the documents, Foreman is alleged to have told one of the then-girls that she could never tell anyone about their relationship.
A spokesperson for the former boxer referred inquiries about the lawsuits to a statement he released last month, revealing he was expecting a lawsuit.
“Over the past six months, two women have been trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family,” Foreman said.
“They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s. I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations.”
He added: “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.”
After winning a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Foreman beat Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight title in 1973. He then lost it the following year to Muhammad Ali in the classic Rumble in the Jungle bout in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then called Zaire. After retiring from the sport, he made millions of dollars from his George Foreman grill.
