Boxing great ‘blackmailed’ by sex abuse accusers

Ex-world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman has claimed two women are trying to blackmail him into paying out millions of dollars in reference to claims that he sexually abused them in the 1970s.

After the alleged attempt to extort the 73-year-old was unsuccessful, sources close to Foreman have told TMZ Sport that the women are now considering a lawsuit against him that could be filed as soon as this week in Los Angeles.

Aware of the potential court battle, Foreman has come out to defend himself and deny the allegations from the women, whose parents are said to have once had a friendly working relationship with the Texan known as "Big George".

"Over the past six months," Foreman began, "two women have been trying to extort millions of dollars each from me and my family.

"They are falsely claiming that I sexually abused them over 45 years ago in the 1970s."

"I adamantly and categorically deny these allegations. The pride I take in my reputation means as much to me as my sports accomplishments, and I will not be intimidated by baseless threats and lies," Foreman went on, stressing he will work alongside his lawyers to "fully and truthfully and expose my accusers' scheme and defend myself in court."

"I don't pick fights, but I don't run away from them either," he concluded.

TMZ say that the two women have asked for $12.5 million each from Foreman, who was said to have pocketed $5 million from the peak of his career between 1969 and 1977.

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Though he was broke by 1987 due to a string of bad investments, Foreman would have landed some considerable paydays during his mid-1990s comeback that saw him become a world champion again aged 45 before retiring in 1997.

Foreman then struck the jackpot thanks to his famous grilling machine, which is said to have earned him around $200 million with the commercial rights to the item sold for $138 million in 1999.

Since being inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003, Foreman has led a mostly quiet life aside from making the occasional comment on the modern combat sports landscape.