“I did that on a 7,000 calorie diet.”
Actor Khris Davis was tasked with the monstrous mission of portraying boxing legend George Foreman in the new biopic movie, and even had to gain 57lb for the role.
The new film ‘Big George Foreman‘ was released on Friday 28th April, and it relives the life of one of the most famous comeback stories in the history of sport.
In the 1970s, Foreman was the most feared heavyweight in the world, rarely had to go past four rounds before knocking out his opponent, and was obviously in incredible shape.
After a defeat to Muhammad Ali and a near death experience, Foreman had a religious awakening, and decided to quit the sport that made him famous in order to become a preacher and share the word of God.
However, after 10 years out of the ring, and a disastrous decision to intrust his finances with a troubled friend who lost everything, the former champion needed to make a comeback in order to pay off his debts, and keep his community clubs open for underprivileged youths.
As you can imagine, when Foreman got into the ring for the second half of his career, he was very different looking, much heavier and with a lot more flesh on his body.
He of course was still as dangerous as ever, as the movie portrays, but the actor who played him had to go to extreme measures in order to fulfil the role as Foreman pre-retirement in the 70s and when he came out of retirement in the late 80s and early 90s.
“For the first part of the movie, because we were training so much, I got into incredible fight shape, and week by week, I would fluxgate my weight because one week I would have to be the younger George, then the other week I would have to be championship weight”, Davis told JOE.ie.
“I would be maybe 228lb for one week, then start picking up weight for the next week and I would be 242lb and I would do that week by week.”
As you can imagine, that was already a pretty drastic jump to make week by week, in order to portray the character as young man and when he was in his prime as a champion fighter.
However, the second part of the movie, when he was the older Foreman coming out of retirement – that was when Davis had to go to the extreme.
“When that first block was over, we took six weeks off for me to do the second half, and I went from 225lb to 275, in five weeks.
George Foreman reminisces about Muhammad Ali as his new movie 'Big George Foreman' is released in cinemas all across Ireland today 🎥
You can watch the full interview with the boxing legend on https://t.co/Gjf3FppEBV's YouTube 🥊 pic.twitter.com/xKO6L0S2Y3
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 28, 2023
“The heaviest I got was 282lb, and I did that on a 7,000 calorie diet.”
Even the those of us who love their food would struggle to choke down 7,000 calories on a daily basis, and it’s worth mentioning that Davis did not keep the weight on at all, and is back to being in fantastic shape.
The commitment of a serious actor is certainly something to be respected.
Big George Foreman is out now in cinemas all across Ireland and the UK.
Related links:
- George Foreman reminisces about Muhammad Ali as his new movie is released
- Boxing needs Anthony Joshua more than Anthony Joshua needs boxing
- This weekend boxing fans finally have a real fight to watch that isn’t wannabe YouTubers
