Former boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman has been accused of sexually assaulting two women when they were teenagers and below the age of consent during the 1970s in a pair of lawsuits, according to The New York Times.

The two women, now in their early 60s, reportedly both claim to have met Foreman when they were under 10 years old. One accuser's father was allegedly a boxer and sparring partner for Foreman, while the other was a manager and adviser for him.

Both reportedly claim Foreman groomed them for several years before forcing them to have sex with him in locations including a San Francisco hotel and Beverly Hills apartment. Both complaints have been filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Foreman allegedly kept at least one girl quiet with a threat of “You don’t want your dad to lose his job, do you?”

Foreman, now 73 years old, denied the claims to ABC News:

In a statement to ABC News, Foreman said he will work with his lawyers to "fully and truthfully expose my accusers' scheme and defend myself in court. I don't pick fights, but I don't run away from them either."

"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 said.

Foreman's professional boxing career ranged from 1969 to 1997, twice capturing major heavyweight world titles and an Olympic gold medal as an amateur in 1968. In an age dominated by Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Foreman rocketed to prominence when he dominated Frazier for the title in 1973.

That reign would only last one year, as Foreman famously lost to Ali in The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Foreman struggled to regain his footing after that loss, stepping away from boxing in 1977 to become an ordained minister and returning to the sport in 1987. He won the WBA and IBF world titles by defeating Michael Moorer in 1994 and ultimately retired with a career record of 76-5.

Despite all that success, most of Foreman's current fortune comes from the line of "George Foreman Grills" bearing his name, which he says have netted him more than $200 million.

Lawyers for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange have filed an appeal against his extradition to the US, as the UN human rights chief lends support to the Australian's cause.Assange, 51, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges in the US and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of military and diplomatic documents leaked by whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

A man is fighting for life following a series of explosions inside a Sydney home unit possibly triggered when a gas stove was left on.Firefighters were called to Trafalgar Parade at inner western Concord shortly after 2am on Saturday, with neighbours reporting hearing loud bangs and windows blowing out.

Scottie Scheffler was on the verge of turning the Tour Championship into a rout before three holes by Xander Schauffele changed everything going into the weekend at East Lake.Olympic champion Schauffele holed a pair of birdie putts, and then drilled a four-iron just over the bunker and right by the hole on the par-5 18th, rolling in a five-foot eagle putt.

Having carried Gold Coast on his young shoulders through a challenging first NRL campaign as captain, Titans coach Justin Holbrook wants Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's teammates to step up to their skipper's standards.The Titans will aim to make it back-to-back home wins for the first time since round four when they host Newcastle at CBUS Super Stadium on Sunday.

Straight from the Horse's mouth, it's "bloody exciting".And for Sydney coach John Longmire, nicknamed the Horse, that's about as expansive as he gets.

Ange Postecoglou believes Real Madrid great Ferenc Puskas would have been proud to see his protege lead Celtic into a Champions League double-header against the Spanish giants.Postecoglou played under the Hungarian for South Melbourne from 1989 to 1992 and soaked in as much knowledge from him before eventually moving into management at the same club.

Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie scored his first league goal in nearly two years as the Championship leaders hit back to earn a 1-1 draw at Luton.McBurnie last found the net in a league game in a 2-1 top-flight defeat to Leicester, while his only goal last term came in the Carabao Cup against Southampton, when he scored an equaliser to force a penalty shoot-out the Blades ultimately lost.

Penrith five-eighth Jarome Luai will be putting his hand up for selection as coach Ivan Cleary ponders which star Panthers to rest in the final game before the 2022 finals series.In 2021, the race for the minor premiership stretched into the last week of the season but given Penrith have already secured top spot this time around, Cleary has begun giving key players time off.

Australian companies appear to have emerged stronger after reporting higher profits over the past financial year despite a COVID-19 rebound, supply chain disruptions and soaring commodities prices.Yet the road ahead seems less smooth.

Real Betis have maintained their perfect Spanish league record with a 1-0 win over Osasuna despite playing a man down in the second half on Friday.Borja Iglesias' fourth goal of the season gave Manuel Pellegrini's Betis their third straight win to start the league.

Try machine Bevan French continues to impress in the Super League, helping Wigan to a 30-10 win over St Helens to maintain their unbeaten home record.The former Parramatta and Indigenous All Star scored another two tries to assert his dominance at the top of the UK try-scoring charts.

Lille have bounced back from a humiliating home thumping by Paris St Germain to win 3-1 at newly promoted Ajaccio for their second win of the Ligue 1 season.Yusuf Yazici's breathtaking volley gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead on Friday and was followed by strikes from Jonathan Bamba near half-time and defender Tiago Djalo midway through the second period.

Moderna has sued Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement in the development of the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the United States, alleging they copied technology that Moderna developed years before the pandemic.The lawsuit, which seeks undetermined monetary damages, was filed on Friday in US District Court in Massachusetts.

Goals from Lazio's Felipe Anderson, Luis Alberto and Pedro secured a 3-1 home victory over Inter Milan to take their side top of Serie A.It was the first time the visitors dropped points this season as coach Simone Inzaghi returned to his old club.

Vanuatu has completely eradicated the blindness-causing disease trachoma, thanks to a mass simultaneous treatment by Australia's Fred Hollows Foundation across the island nation.It is the first Pacific country to do so, following funding from the government's Australian NGO Cooperation Program and the UK government.

Making her first feature film Darklands on a shoestring budget, Sarah Mayberry needed a place to bury a body."That's always a fun request to put out on the local Facebook," she jokes.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nina Kennedy has continued her fine summer with a second-place finish in the women's pole vault at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne.Kennedy secured another podium finish with a clearance of 4.

Russia forces based in Syria say four Israeli jets had launched a total of four cruise missiles and 16 guided aerial bombs against a research facility in the city of Masyaf, Russian agencies report.Syrian troops using Russian-made anti-aircraft weapons shot down two missiles and seven guided bombs, Tass and RIA said, quoting a senior Russian officer.

Nick Kyrgios's all-Australian US Open first-round showdown with Thanasi Kokkinakis has been scheduled as the feature men's night match to complete a blockbuster day-one program at Flushing Meadows.Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, doubles partners, great mates and one-time Australian Open junior singles final sparring partners, will duel immediately after an emotion-charged Serena Williams potentially plays the last match of her grand career.

Spain's Alejandro Canizares and South African's Thriston Lawrence still share the lead in the weather-affected European Masters.Almost three hours of play was lost due to a thunderstorm at Crans-sur-Sierre, meaning the second round was not completed on schedule and will resume at 7.