Pacquiao responds to Ali’s tweet, hails ‘The Greatest’

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing great Muhammad Ali’s recent tweet expressing hope for a showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao has taken the Twitter-verse by storm.

It also most likely left a big smile on Pacquiao’s face.

A few days after Ali went to Twitter to urge Mayweather to consider fighting Pacquiao, the Filipino icon tweeted his appreciation for the boxing legend.

@MuhammadAli @FloydMayweather God Bless You, Muhammad. YOU are The Greatest!

— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) May 5, 2014

Ali posted the tweet to Mayweather just a few hours after the American escaped with a majority decision over a determined Marcos Maidana to remain unbeaten.

It turned out that Ali, widely acknowledged as “The Greatest” in boxing, is among those who haven’t given up on a possible fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Pacquiao had gone on record about his willingness to face Mayweather in a megabuck fight that can go down as the richest in history. But the same can’t be said about Mayweather, who after beating Maidana talked about a rematch with the Argentine.

Mayweather and Pacquiao have tried negotiating a deal before but failed due to a number of reasons.

Ali, 72, compiled a professional record of 56-5, with 37 knockouts. He is known for his heavyweight showdowns with fellow greats Floyd Patterson, George Foreman and Joe Frazier among others. But his storied trilogy with Frazier stands out the most, culminating in their 1974 “Thrilla in Manila” rubbermatch at the Araneta Coliseum.