First Comeback

Foreman remained inactive during 1975. In 1976, he announced a comeback and stated his intention of securing a rematch with Ali. He first opponent was to be Ron Lyle, who had been defeated by Ali in 1975, via 11th-round TKO. Lyle was the number-five rated heavyweight in the world at the time per the March 1976 issue of the Ring. At the end of the first round, Lyle landed a hard right that sent Foreman staggering across the ring. In the second round, Foreman pounded Lyle against the ropes and might have scored a KO, but due to a timekeeping error, the bell rang with a minute still remaining in the round and Lyle survived. In the third, Foreman pressed forward, with Lyle waiting to counter off the ropes. In the fourth, a brutal slugfest erupted. A cluster of power punches from Lyle sent Foreman to the canvas. When Foreman got up, Lyle staggered him again but just as Foreman seemed finished, he retaliated with a hard right to the side of the head, knocking down Lyle. Lyle beat the count, then landed another brutal combination, knocking Foreman down for the second time. Again, Foreman beat the count. Foreman said later that he had never been hit so hard in a fight and remembered looking down at the canvas and seeing blood. In the fifth round, both fighteres continued to ignore defense and traded their hardest punches, looking crude. Each man staggered the other, and each seemed almost out on his feet. Then, as if finally tired, Lyle stopped punching, and Foreman delivered a dozen unanswered blows until Lyle collapsed to the canvas. Lyle remained down, giving Foreman a KO victory. The fight was named by The Ring as "The Fight of the Year."

Foreman vs Frazier 2

For his next bout, Foreman chose to face Joe Frazier in a rematch. Frazier was then the world's number-three heavyweight per The Ring. Because of the one-sided Foreman victory in their first fight, and the fact that Fazier had taken a tremendous amount of punishment from Ali in Manila a year earlier, few expected him to win. Frazier at this point was 32-3, having lost only to Foreman and Ali twice, and Foreman was 31-1, with his sole defeat at the hands of Ali. However, their rematch began competitively, as Frazier used quick head movements to make Foreman miss with his hardest punches. Frazier was wearing a conac lens for his vision, which was knocked loose during the bout. Unable to mount a significant offense, Frazier was eventually floored twice by Foreman in the fifth round and fight was stopped. Next, Foreman knocked out Scott LeDoux in three rounds and prospect John Dino Denis in four to finish the year.

Retirement and spiritual rebirth

Foreman as reverend at the Church of the Lord Jesus CHrist, 1994

Foreman had a life-changing year in 1977. After knocking out Pedro Agosto in four rounds at Pensacola, Florida, Foreman flew to Puerto Rico a day before the fight without giving himself time to acclimate. His opponent was the skilled boxer Jimmy Young, who had beaten Ron Lyle and lost a very controversial decision to Muhammad Ali the previous year. Foreman fought cautiously early on, allowing Young to settle into the fight. Young constantly complained about Foreman pushing him, for which Foreman eventually had a point deducted by the referee, although Young was never warned for his persistent holding. Foreman badly hurt Young in round seven but was unable to land a finishin blow. Foreman tired during the second half of the fight and suffered a knockdown in round twelve before losing by unanimous decision.

Christianity

Foreman became ill in his dressing room after the fight. He was suffering from exhaustion and heatstroke and stated he had a newar-death experience. He spoke of being in a hellish, frightening place of nothingness and despair, and realized that he was in the midst of death. Though not yet religious, he began to plead with God to help him. He explained that he sensed God was asking him to change his life and ways. When he said, "I don't care if this is death - I still believe there is a God!"

After this experience, Foreman became a born-again Christian, dedicating his life for the next decade to God. Although he did not formally reitre from boxing, Foreman stopped fighting and became an ordained minister, initially preaching on street corners before becoming the reverend at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston and devoting himself to his family and his congregation.