George Foreman names the hardest puncher he faced - it's not Muhammad Ali or Joe Frazier

George Foreman fought some of the hardest hitters in heavyweight history - but there's one that stands out the most.

Having mixed it with Joe Frazier and Evander Holyfield, 'Big George' boxed some of the best of all time, and took a fair few whacks along the way as well.

But despite being unceremoniously dropped by The Greatest, Foreman revealed that the hardest hitter he ever faced was former world title challenger Ron Lyle.

Replying to a fan on Twitter, he wrote: "Ron Lyle - never had I been hit so hard; and he did again."

Foreman beat Lyle in 1976 but had to overcome adversity in the fourth round after he found himself on the canvas for only the second time in his career.

But he rallied in the fifth round before unloading a barrage of an unanswered blows to the head leaving Lyle lying in a heap on the floor in sheer exhaustion.

Former World heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman poses for photographers during a media conference in Johannesburg on April 20,2001. Foreman is in Johannesburg for Sunday's world heavyweight title fight between Britain's Lennox Lewis and his U.S. challenger Hasim Rahman. Foreman was the upset loser in the first world heavyweight title fight held in Africa when underdog Muhammad Ali knocked him out in the eighth round in 1974 in Kinshasa, the capital of the former Zaire.

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Former world champion Foreman went on to rematch Smokin' Joe that same year, winning again in round 5.

Foreman also shared some memorable battles over the years with Everett Martin and Tommy Morrison, in 1989 and then 1993, before he famously came out of retirement to beat Michael Moorer for the WBA and IBF belts in 1994.

Speaking in an interview with The Ring Magazine in 2016, Foreman said: “Other than my victory over Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight title, my redemption against Ron Lyle means more to me than all of them.

After the Ali loss, I was a shell of myself. I walked around for over a year and could barely face people. I was so low and kept making excuses.

“When Lyle floored me, the first thing through my mind was, ‘What excuses do you have now, George? He’s knocked you down, you’re hurt, and when you get up he’s gonna knock you down again.’

"I said to myself, ‘I’m getting up and you’ll just have to kill me.’

“I lived through that match and was redeemed.”