Boxing-Heavyweight icon Foreman's record will remain unbreakable - WBC president Sulaiman

(Reuters) - The death of George Foreman signals the end of the golden age of heavyweight boxing and the 20-year gap between his two world titles is a unique record that will never be broken, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has said.

Foreman, who lost his first title to Muhammad Ali in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974 and then knocked out Michael Moorer for the heavyweight title at the age of 45, died on Friday at age 76.

Sulaiman remembers Foreman as a man who defied expectations to reignite his passion for the sport, eventually becoming the oldest ever heavyweight champion after a change in his approach to life.

"It is a difficult moment because it's the end of that great era of heavyweight boxing. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Sonny Liston... and now George Foreman joins them in heaven," Sulaiman, who heads one of the four major organisations which sanction boxing bouts, told Reuters.

Despite returning to the ring following a decade-long hiatus, a noticeably heavier Foreman remained a formidable force and he retained his thunderous power, flooring a stunned Moorer in Las Vegas in November 1994.

Previously perceived as an intimidating figure who trained alongside the formidable "killing machine" Sonny Liston, embodying the persona of a tough contender, Foreman underwent a significant transformation with age to become a gentle giant.

Inside the ring, however, he racked up wins despite his age and weight, finishing his career less than two months shy of his 49th birthday with a formidable 76-5 win-loss record.

"He became such a loving character when he came back (aged 38). He was not seen as this giant force. Rather, he was like a loving teddy bear," Sulaiman said.

"When he knocked out Moorer and made huge history by coming back to win the heavyweight championship, that just wrapped up his legacy.

"He will be remembered for those two eras in boxing. Very seldom it has happened, such a gap between the two (titles)."

Professional boxing is an unforgiving sport and Sulaiman believes nobody can match or break Foreman's record of winning heavyweight titles two decades apart.

"Records are meant to be broken, but some are simply unbreakable and the big George Foreman story is unique," he said.

'GREATNESS OF LIFE'

Having become an ordained minister during his first retirement, Sulaiman said few could match Foreman's grace and humility following his return to the ring.

"He was always praising others, which is an attribute that made him such a special person, because he always spoke highly about Muhammad Ali, about Frazier, about anyone," he added.

"Even though his defeat against Muhammad Ali eventually was a very complicated time for him because everybody expected him to win, it took him years to overcome that and to understand the greatness of life."

Sulaiman said not many boxers have come back in the way a previously undefeated Foreman did after losing to Ali, a "washed-up fighter trying to earn a last payday", before the historic Rumble in the Jungle.

"His resilience, his determination to work hard, to follow a dream, to make it happen -- the comeback was not easy... And then he went on and knocked out Michael Moorer," he said.

"This big man (was a) father, grandfather, great-grandfather, heavyweight champion of the world - but at the same time so kind, so grateful, never lived a life of high luxury where he would try to feel bigger than anyone.

"He will be remembered as a great icon of boxing and in the history of human beings, because he earned a spot among the greatest."

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)