Former heavyweight champion George Foreman is planning a return to the ring, saying that he wants to show he can still fight at the age of 55.

Foreman said on Tuesday in a telephone interview he has been planning a return to boxing for about a year.

The former heavyweight champ became a champion for the middle-aged when he became the oldest man to claim the heavyweight belt at the age of 45. Foreman has not fought in about seven years.

"I have been working out. My goal is to get down to 225 pounds (102 kg)," Foreman said.

Foreman said he began training on his 55th birthday on Jan. 10, 2004, and said he may have to cut out on his desserts in order to drop another 50 pounds (22.7 kg).

"It is a time for everybody to stop being afraid of being 50 or 60. It's about time that people stopped being afraid of it,' Foreman said.

He said that a lot of people he knows who are about the same age wait anxiously for the results of their yearly health examinations and do not see that they can be physically active and competitive.

"People have to understand that it can be done," Foreman said.

Foreman did not say if an opponent or a venue had been lined up, but when asked about where a bout may be fought, he replied that he has had a good time in London.

Foreman reclaimed the heavyweight crown when he knocked out Michael Moorer in 1994. He retired after losing a decision against Shannon Briggs in 1997.

Foreman has a record of 76 and 5, with 68 wins by knockout.

Foreman is known these days for his work as a boxing analyst for cable TV's HBO and for his work as a salesman for a popular line of barbecue grills bearing his name.

Foreman has recently been on TV in Texas to pitch his own line of clothes for big and tall men that is being sold at Casual Male Big & Tall stores. The Foreman line includes pants with expandable waistbands and shirt collars, as well as high tech fabrics that allow wearers to easily dissipate sweat.

The fashion collection will be taken nationwide as Foreman joins a list of celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez with their own brand of clothes.

"Mothers are going to love me because I am going to have affordable clothes for their big old 17-year-olds," he said.