"Life is great, couldn't ask for anything else. It's great, just another day," says two-time heavyweight champion and boxing legend George Foreman at the start of his conversation with The Big Tigger Morning Show at V-103 in Atlanta.
LISTEN NOW: George Foreman talks with the Big Tigger Morning Show
George is currently promoting a new film hitting the big screen this week, Big George Foreman, featuring actor Khris Davis playing the role of Foreman telling the incredible story of his life journey, also starring Jasmine Mathews, John Magaro, Sullivan Jones, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Sonja Sohn, and Forest Whitaker.
"It's wonderful. I got a chance to watch the movie and relive a lot of moments in my life," George says, "and walked out of the movie happy, especially how it turned out. You leave out of the movie almost cheering for the guy; Someone other than myself, a real character that made a difference in life."
WATCH NOW: George Foreman talks with The Big Tigger Morning Show
Likely one of the most memorable moments would be when, after losing a bout to Muhammad Ali, Foreman decided to prove his strength to the world by lifting cows. "I didn't even know the strength," George admits. "I actually lifted a cow and carried it around. [It] blew me away about my own self. I didn't know I could do it!"
"I always hoped there would be an actor that would play George Foreman in a movie," he continues. "This guy Khris acted. He's a true actor. He brought the George Foreman character to life and I sat there and pulled and cheered for him as though it was really me. I really enjoyed it."
LISTEN NOW: Khris Davis on portraying George Foreman
Khris Davis, best known for his roles in Judas and the Black Messiah and Space Jam: A New Legacy, also spoke with The Big Tigger Morning Show about his involvement in the project. Khris admits, "It was a huge responsibility to be taking on the task of trying to emulate some specific details about him because everybody knows George Foreman. Either you know the fighter, or you know the grill guy. But everybody knows him so well... you know you think it's easy to mess up. So, when I got the role it was about being intentional and specific about telling his legacy and doing it justice."
Preparing for the role, Khris says he "spent three days with George in Houston... I'm sitting across from him and all I can do is stare at him." After letting George talk for a bit, he realized he needed to ask the man some questions. "All I wanted todo was give him deference because this is George Foreman. I never thought I'd be sitting across from such an icon, you know what I mean?"
While the life of George Foreman is bookended by his career in the ring, Khris says he wanted to show more than just the destruction he brought to the sport. "The thing is, he did destroy people in the ring, and that's what he wanted to do," Khris explains. "But what I also wanted to do with this film, was to do his boxing career justice by showing the intellectual side of his abilities. Because George was an intellectual fighter, he was a smart fighter, and people don't understand that about him. So, when you watch some of his old fights, you can see just how much of a technician he was."
Listen to both conversations with George and Khris above, and check out the official trailer for Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World below, in theaters this week.
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