(Getty)
All-time boxing great Muhammad Ali revealed he will be rooting for Manny Pacquiao when the Filipino icon faces off against pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) in their highly anticipated superbout on May 2.
Ali’s daughter, Rasheda Ali, told TMZ: “My dad really likes Manny. He’s a huge fan of his. He knows Manny’s a great fighter … but it’s more about what he does outside the ring. He’s such a charitable person.”
Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) will enter the ring on May 2 having easily outpointed Chris Algieri in November 2014. Prior to that, Pacquiao had beaten Timothy Bradley in a rematch and Brandon Rios after being stopped in a sixth-round knockout-loss to nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.
Ali is no stranger stranger to the “megafight.” His legendary encounters against the likes of Joe Frazier and George Foreman garnered international interest and attention, and were watched around the world by millions.
Ali’s first encounter against Frazier in 1971 was witnessed, in the biggest televised broadcast at that time, by 300 million people across 50 countries.
You can watch the entire fight here:
Mayweather-Pacquiao, which is expected to exceed all previous gate and pay-per-view records, will be broadcast live in the States on SHOWTIME PPV and HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m.
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Muhammad Ali on Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Fight: ‘Team Pacquiao’