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.

The American boxing legend shared the ring with Muhammad Ali in their historic ‘Rumble in the Jungle’.

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 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.

But nothing means more to him than beating Lyle other than when he became world champion for the first time.

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