George Foreman says a woman accusing him of sexual abuse 45 years ago -- when she was a minor -- is intentionally dragging his name through the mud and flat-out lying ... so, now he's going after her in court.
Foreman filed his countersuit Monday against the accuser, Gwen H., who had initially sued the ex-boxer last summer. TMZ Sports broke the story ... she, and another woman, claimed Foreman groomed, and eventually sexually abused them, when they were still underage.
In his docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Foreman acknowledges that he can't sue Gwen for the allegations she wrote in her lawsuit ... but he says she stepped outside that protection when she held a news conference 3 months later.
During that news conference, she detailed her allegations, saying ... "He asked me to remove my clothes, and if I didn't then my father would be fired, so I complied."
According to his lawsuit, Foreman claims Gwen's allegations -- repeated in the news conference -- are "entirely fabricated" and she has "zero corroborating evidence in the form of documents, photographs, letters, or witnesses to support Gwen's false claims against Foreman."
He adds, Gwen is "hoping that the passage of time will excuse her complete lack of evidence."
Additionally, Foreman cites something he told us back in July 2022 -- even before Gwen sued him -- which is that she had allegedly demanded more than $12 million from him in order to stop her from going public with what he calls "her bogus claims."
Foreman says he's suffered "anxiety, sleeplessness, worry, shock and humiliation" since Gwen's news conference ... and he's suing her for unspecified damages.