Ellerbe’s Statement To Arum & Greenburg: “Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire”
By William Trillo
When I left you with my thoughts yesterday I stated that Floyd Mayweather and his right hand man Leonard Ellerbe must be thrilled because Bob Arum showed his hand on this past weekends midnight teleconference.
Maybe Ellerbe was a little less than thrilled. Not wanting to be trumped by Arum, Ellerbe jumped into the high stakes game today by playing the “Liar Liar Pants On Fire” Card!
In a short statement sent to the media Ellerbe said, “Here are the facts. Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”
In one quick swipe Ellerbe basically accused Bob Arum and/or HBO’s Ross Greenburg of being liars and even though he directed his venom towards Arum he left Greenburg swinging in the same guilty breeze.
One name conveniently left out of Ellerbe’s statement was Oscar De La Hoya, you may remember him, he is the President Golden Boy Promotions, and if I am not mistaken they are doing the bulk of the negotiations on behalf of Ellerbe’s boss Floyd Mayweather.
It was Oscar himself who during a June interview on Univision said of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao negotiations, “The deal for the fight is very close.”
So, Leonard should either drop the liar card on Oscar too or he can start back pedaling now and explain how Oscar could have made that statement one month ago.
“This is like absurd unreality,” said Bob Arum when reached at his Los Angeles vacation home. “I’m not going to be party to this sh*t. When I heard about it I thought it was a joke. Ross said he was talking to Haymon. He certainly wasn’t making it up. And Haymon was relaying conversations to Ross allegedly that Floyd had with him. At least that is what Ross says.”
And what does Ross say now? How about nothing.
When asked for a reaction to Ellerbe’s blast Greenburg told ESPN.com via email, “As always we have no comment.”
Going back to Arum, the long time promoter made a very good point when he said, “If there is no negotiation, who imposed the gag order,” Arum said. “Why they’re doing this is absurd. What is motivating them to put something like this out? I’m not going to speculate, but what are they doing? Schaefer said there was a gag order. Who could there be a gag order from if there were no negotiations? From the sky?
Ellerbe said in his statement, ”Here are the facts. Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place …”
…Just thinking out loud so bare with me for a moment.
Al Haymon is boxing’s top advisors and easily one of the most powerful people in all of boxing today.
Richard Schaefer is Oscar De La Hoya’s CEO and has proven to be a brilliant negotiator who has helped build the Golden Boy promotional empire.
Leonard Ellerbe is…ummm….wait give me a minute….he’s…ahhhh…ooh wait…got it…as Kevin Iole stated on Yahoo, “Ellerbe is the best friend of Mayweather.” Whoopee!
Could it be that Haymon & Schaefer kept Ellerbe safely out of the loop in those regular discussions? Could it be they only told Leonard what he needed to know during the negotiation process?
Like I said, I am just thinking out loud.
To quote Ellerbe, Here are the facts:
Leonard just accused Bob Arum and quite possibly the President of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg of being liars! He did this just a month after Oscar De Laya said a deal was the fight was very close!
For Leonard’s sake he better hope he can prove that there never were any negotiations going on in regard to Pacquiao and Mayweather. I know I would hate to be the one who in one paragraph made ill-advised & false statements about 4 of the most powerful people in boxing.
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“For Leonard’s sake he better hope he can prove that there never were any negotiations going on…..”
you want him to prove a negative ?????
isn’t it easier to prove that there were negotiations ?
Yes, I want him to prove nothing transpired. Good work!
Like I can prove you NEVER wrote a decent response. Let’s start with your most recent one and go from there.
Since when did you become my content editor Luis?
Listen, you can’t believe that PAC and Top Rank are innocent in this FIASCO. I hold them just as responsible for the failure, same goes for MAyweather.
As Boxing Fans…we fell into this bickering competition between the TWO of them…You want to send them a MESSAGE, don’t buy their PPV…put you support behind true warriors such as Andre Berto, Andre Ward, Mikkel Kesslers, Maidana, Devon Alexander, Tim Bradley, JuanMa, Gamboa…the list goes on.
It time to remind them (PAC and Mayweather) why they are held in the Spotlight they are now…we as fans put them there!!!
As far as i care, Pacquaio can go back to Phillipines and concentrate on being congressman. Likewise for Mayweather…go be a hiphop mogul or something…or Philanthropist!!!
Leonard ellerbe is saying NO TALKS took PLACE. While TOP RANK says they did. So we are back to square one, we are picking sides, who do you believe??? All the news on the INTERNET has been Bob Arum and Top Rank. And one goof up by Oscar , in which, he immediately rebuked. I SAY ROSS GREENBURG of HBO SPORTS need to come out of HIDING and set the record straight on who is LYING…until then, people need to stop the name calling!!!
keeping it 100…I don’t believe neither one of them, Pac or Mayweather…they both want the advantage and clear they don’t want to compromise. Honestly, i wish they remove both of them off the P4P list…because they are not P4P boxers…They are not willing to FIGHT the best P4P BOXER, thus they don’t deserve the TITLE. Give it to Andre Ward and the rest of the Super Six Participants…they set there ego aside and are getting it on.
LMAO !
“Since when did you become my content editor Luis?”
Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can.
im a die hard mayweather fan an im extremely dissapoint that once again this fight is not going to happen. Everyone blamed Mayweather the first time. I disagree with that I blamed Pac for the first time. This time I don’t even care they both know how much this would mean for boxing and them not fighting is just stupid. Arum only put his own fighters against each other and its killing boxing. Really a Cotto rematch? Margarito? And for mayweather team to say there was no negotiations going on is silly. Arum hasn’t shut his big mouth for weeks they could have said something at any time. Sad I was ready to go to vegas for Nov 13th.
First off, Ellerbee shouldn’t be saying a thing. The one’s who work with the negotiation process are Ross Greenburg, Al Haymon, Bob Arum, Oscar and Schaeffer. Ellerbee is the odd man out. He’s on the “need to know” basis and from the looks of things, the before mentioned group have him on the “don’t need to know a damn thing” basis. As far as the fight itself, I really don’t care anymore. Who’s fault is it, mostly mayweather and company. The first time around, Manny didn’t submit to the testing, so he gets run off blame for that. But let me remind everyone who reads this, mayweather has had a long history of not taking on true challenges of his supposed boxing talent. Who’s fault is that, everyone who created the monster mayweather of today. My grandparents, God rest their souls, had a saying, “Cria cuervos y te sacan los ojos”. Literally translated, “Raise crows and they will gouge your eyes”. During mayweather’s career, HBO, Arum, Haymon and even Oscar have let him get away with things. Picking/avoiding opponents, absurd demands, assuming the driver’s seat in negotiations and letting him believe that the boxing world revolved around him are factors that have created the monster he is today. Even if we complain about the turn of events and have to settle with a Pacquiao/Cotto rematch or a Pacquiao/Margarito bout, one thing can’t be denied, at least Manny Pacquiao will fight in a ring and offer the boxing world what they want… pure action fights that take place in the ring. What does monster mayweather offer… nothing!!! A slick spiked tongue, arogance galore and lack of devotion (Leaving it all in the ring) do not win fights… inside or out of a ring.
Good night and God Bless
@Luis M. Cadiz Sr.
Great post. Totally agree.
Manny has some hand picked fights lately they won’t put him in there with a real boxer at all. You can say the same for mayweather but that is what they said before he fought mosley. Everyone said he was scared to fight mosely he was ducking him and all that. But as soon as he dominated him it was of mosley is old and didn’t have a chance. If your going to say that about mayweather you have to say that about pac. I m come on Cotto or margaratio are his only opitions . There are lots of better fights out there for him. He didn’t want to fight foreman because he was to big but Mararito isn’t? Oh yeah Margartio is a Arum fighter. Pac fights have been hand picked for year now Clottey come on.
Jeff, we keep on running into each other! Remember my friend, boxing is a business. Of course Arum will place Pac in a ring with one of his fighters, it’s easy business. Plus, Arum doesn’t have to split the profits with another promoter and since both fighters are his, no matter who wins, he always goes home with the winner. Oscar played his only credible card with Mosley, now what for Golden Boy Promotions? Put little may with Amir Khan? Look around for new comer to the welters Tim Bradley? Guess what Jeff, if that takes place, little may will keep on taking jr. welters!!! While Manny will keep on facing true welters, or at least bigger opponents, in Cotto and Margarito. Though “hand picked” as you say, they represent more of a threat than jr. welters that come up to face a mayweather who has been fighting in that division for quite a while. To top it all off, PAC would be facing another two foes that little may had avoided even before his retirement and doesn’t have any plans of getting in the ring with them any time soon. As I said before, at least Manny gets into the ring with these guys. Who will little may get into the ring with?
Good night and God Bless
Luis M. Cadiz
Luis, what is good here is that we may have different views but you defintely know your boxing so on things we will disagree I take a lot of points from what you say. Like you said this is a business. I do believe that is the reason Mayweather past on the 8 million to fight Margartio and fought Baldamor for 12 million. Pac fought one fighter who mayweather is accused of ducking Cotto and he did fight him after he was exposed a little bit. People said before the mosley fight that they would give floyd credit if he beat mosely. That didn’t happen. I understand because of this big mouth he has haters out there. But in the last fight he fought mosely and pac fought Clottey. So its pac turn to step it up. Pac is a great champion and i believe that he would prove more by staying at 147 and fighting great fighters there then moving up to 154. I also believe that because of his mouth that if mayweather beats pac people will start to put down pac talents.
Thanks for the compliment Jeff. I just try to be as analytical as possible with what I see before me and with the evidence I have. If I don’t know something, I won’t comment on it… And if I’m wrong, I will stand corrected. I like the fact that eventhough you declared yourself a mayweather “fan”, you are not that radical. I have met, both on line and personally, mayweather fans that are just as… maybe even more… obnoxious than floyd himself. As far as the Mosley fight, I have spoken with other people about that fight, to get their opinions. A well known trainer expressed to me the following, “Luis, your telling me that Sugar Shane, world champion in 3 weight classes and has faced practically everyone who was anybody during that time, gets mayweather in trouble in the second round and then can’t finish him off!?! The man went from throwing 40 punches or more and connecting in double digits for the first two rounds and then in the third round he threw 8 punches and connected 1!!! Larry Merchant interviews him at the end of the fight and Mosley said that after that second round, “he got tight” and couldn’t follow up. A man like Mosley, always in great shape, trained for all that time and all he had in the tank were two rounds!?! Mosley, a great finisher, hurts mayweather and even buckles him, and then he’s not able to follow up with what gave him results the round before!?!” Jeff, the conversation was extensive, those were just a couple of points that can explain a whole bunch. My opinion, mayweather was never too enthused with the idea of getting into the ring with Mosley. But if Pac had beat Cotto decisively and then was coming off a dominating performance against Clottey, Oscar needed to place mayweather into the ring with a credible opponent. Remember, little may had mentioned about going on some far fetched “world tour” and taking on the likes of Matthew Hatton. No way!!! What does Golden Boy do then, sacrifice Mosley to keep mayweather on a “level” playing field, as far as future negotiations are concerned. Remember Jeff, it’s not the same thing saying you just came off a win with Shane Mosley than saying you flew half way around the globe to beat down Mathew Hatton. All this info, you absorb it as you will. I personally feel that something was arranged there, but since I wasn’t present in the negotiations, it’s all just speculation. Thanks for the time…
God Bless Always
Luis M. Cadiz Sr.
Your right a younger Mosley may have been able to finish him off we will never know that. What we do know is that floyd has struggled early in many fights and adjust and makes the other fighter fight his fight. I believe that is one of his best strenghts. Oscar started well Zab started well Mosely started well and had there chance but they ended up fighting floyds fight. I think thats a credit to floyd. Another thing I think is that floyd’s conditioning is his biggest strength. He has the ablity to stay calm and it helps him. I agree with you the the world tour would have been horrible for floyd and I would not have been able to defend it. Even if Oscar or whoever convinced him to get in there with mosely he still had to do it and win the fight. My thing is I believe that there is some blame on floyd for his selction of oppenents but he still has a good resume. I also believe like you said there are mayweather fans that are radical who will not listen to anyone. But there are may haters who will never ever give him credit. Those are the same people who will go on and say he will never fight a williams or a berto or margartio if he beat pac. There will always be someone he scared of for the radical mayweather hater right?
Come on Luis M Cadiz sr
Honestly i have been listening to you saying what you wanna say, Jeff thought you know your boxing, guess what, i dont think you dont know it, here is my question, How do i know if Jeff is not you? confused? i mean how do we know if Jeff is not your friend, he complimented you right? Did you write the complement to your self?
What a moron, you must be saying that, that is exactly how i felt when you mentioned indirectly that Mayweather jr vs Mosley was a fixed fight, I mean if you know the science of the sport you can see when the boxer is in trouble or when he is holding back, Pacquiao ko Marquez 3 times in round one and the fight ended up being a draw, was the fight fixed ? I dont care if the trainer you spoke to was the legendary Cas A Dimato from his grave, Mosley was not holding back he got his ass wooped!! sorry for that.
Arum is keeping everything inside his house like any other promoter would, now he says Paul Williams fight is a joke, now tell me didnt Pac fight Clottey? a guy with a loss from Cotto and a guy with a record of a couple of losses, ok then! My point is promoters will always keep it inside their houses, but they still need to be reasonable, i mean why Pac vs Cotto, also why plan a fight with a boxer with no licence in USA with Pac, Also why Pac who is suppose to be the King fighting with Margarito, the guy who could not handle the speed of Mosley who is 100 times less faster than Pac, If Pac fights everyone only for the fans as he says, why not Marquez again? why not Williams at 147, some of you dont even know he fought De La Hoya at 145 (catch-weight) even though the fight was officiated at 147. Pac is a great fighter and they are taking care of him as much as they do to Mayweather jr the only difference is Mayweather jr is talented and his handlers are also talented in what they are doing. so its the same sht!!! Boxing is bigger than those Two anyway!
Malibongwe, I am my own person. I said I can see why some people hate on mayweather for who he chooses to fight I didn’t say i agreed with it. I do believe he has a good resume better then pac. I also believe that a cotto or margarito fight for pac is a joke. I think that boxing is bigger then those 2 but I still want to see that fight bad. I believe that mayweather will have a easy time with pac (just my opinion). I also think that he will not be given the credit he deserves after the fight. Mayweather may open his mouth a lot but his talent is amazing and he makes the fight seem easy. Some people say he is boring but I disagree. I believe boxing is about hitting and not getting hit. My faviorite before floyd was pernall and he was hated on. I just like that style. I belive floyd is pernall with pop
Dear Malibongwe:
Thanks for the reply. First off, you are not listening to what’s happening between Jeff and myself, you are reading it. I have written, not said. The same way Jeff has written and hasn’t said a word. Now you, just as Ellerbe, have become the odd man out. You are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. The trainer I spoke to is well respected and trains and manages a world class boxer, feared among many, including little may. It wasn’t Cus D’Amato, get the spelling correct the next time.
Malibongwe, in order for me to educate you on the sweet science, this reply section doesn’t offer me enough space. At least Jeff accepts certain point of view and takes into consideration certain possibilities. You are blind and blind people, when taken away from their environment, need a cane because if they don’t have one, they run into danger. Tread lightly Malibongwe, because you may run into land mine of boxing ignorance and blow up!!! Speak… I mean reply to you later.
God Bless
Luis M. Cadiz … Not Jeff
1 thing I can say is I lost all respect I had for pac man. First he makes de la hoya fight at a drained 147 witch he would not do against floyd. Then all of a sudden he could make 147 so he makes cotto drain to 145.Now he is going to fight margarito at 150 and there actucally going to fight for the 154 open belt. how is that possible. Margarito has fought 1 bum in the past 2 years and pac has never fought at this weight (he still is not because of the catch weight) but this for a belt. And floyd gets shit for being 2 pounds over against marquez.