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Home » Floyd Mayweather CEO claims racial discrimination remains rife in boxing

Floyd Mayweather CEO claims racial discrimination remains rife in boxing

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  • 3 min read

Floyd Mayweather trustee Leonard Ellerbe claims racial discrimination is rife in boxing and says people of color don’t get the support they need.

Ellerbe made the statement that included Premier Boxing Champions head honcho Al Haymon.

Despite all mentioned being millionaires, many times over in some cases, Ellerbe still believes race plays a part in the current climate.

“I’ll say what others won’t. People of color and women are not afforded the same support or the same evaluation system that others are.

“The reality is people like Floyd, Al, Stephen, and myself are held to a different standard in boxing. It’s very unfortunate. Stay woke!”

FLOYD MAYWEATHER

The incident comes after Mayweather said similar about his time with Bob Arum. A claim Terence Crawford recently seconded.

“I think I just got held back. But I could have been a bigger, quicker [PPV draw]. If I wasn’t held back from PPV by Bob Arum,” Mayweather told AllHipHop.com.

“I feel that my first PPV fight should have been with Angel Manfredy. Bob Arum is biased against black fighters. He leans towards Hispanic fighters and keeps them on PPV.”

Bob Arum Floyd Mayweather
HBO

Like Mayweather under Arum, Crawford feels similarly.

“Bud,” said through his lawyers: “Arum continues to make racist and bigoted statements. He continues to purposefully damage the reputations of black boxers without any consequences.

“This is generally because the affected boxers, who are in long-term contracts with Top Rank.

“They fear that if they speak up, they will be placed on the sideline. They will not get the opportunity to fight during the life of their deal, which could be five to seven years.”

WBA

Ellerbe’s concerns follow a horrific happening in 2021 that saw a judge suspended by the WBA.

Gloria Martinez Rizzo made awful tweets before getting found out after a lousy judging decision in a welterweight bout.

After imposing their punishment, the WBA stated: “The WBA expresses its rejection of any act of intolerance against others. This includes racism, as stated in Article 9.01 of our Code of Ethics.

“To oppose and counteract discrimination on the grounds of race, nationality, religion, social status.

“For that reason, the WBA has suspended judge Gloria Martinez indefinitely.

“The World Boxing Association promotes the values of fair competition and respect for others. We also work well as the constant work for the systematic development of this sport.

“We aim for providing opportunities for boxers to achieve their dreams.”

Ellerbe’s comments won’t go unnoticed in a world where black fighters continue to be a significant driving force in the sport.

He won’t be alone.

The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.

WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.