Video evidence of Floyd Mayweather CEO Leonard Ellerbe wrongly claiming Al Haymon offered Rolly Romero a better deal to face Isaac Cruz over Ryan Garcia has gone viral.
Ellerbe is seen in a clip by FightHub TV stating Rolly got a lesser deal from Oscar De La Hoya for the Garcia fight. Mayweather’s right-hand man even used an expletive to demonstrate his detest for the deal compared to what Haymon put on the table.
He added: “This [Rolly vs Cruz] is actually the better fight.” Asked about the offer specifics, Ellerbe replied: “I don’t want to get into that,” which probably came with reasoning.
Ellerbe didn’t want to go into it because De La Hoya’s offer was higher than what Haymon secured Rolly’s services for on March 30.
Rolly stated in the same video: “The only time Ryan ever made any money was when he fought over here on PBC with Al Haymon. He checks out for all of my events. Al Haymon gave me a way better deal.”
That may be so, as Rolly may have further incentives from the fight or future headliners with the company. However, what Ellerbe said about De La Hoya’s offer wasn’t precisely gospel.
In a later video with the same channel, Rolly admitted: “I decided to take a way more difficult fight than Ryan Garcia for less money. But people want to bash me for taking a more difficult fight. I would say that ‘Pitbull’ Cruz is way more difficult to fight. He’s much more durable, he punches, and is aggressive.”
Well @OscarDeLaHoya told the truth and Ellerbie lied. Rolly admits took less money to fight Cruz over Ryan.
📽 @FightHubTV #boxing pic.twitter.com/yAu01LSPzx
— DSTYLE (@DStyleBoxing) February 13, 2024
The furor made about Romero’s decision not to face Garcia when Golden Boy’s top fighter had chosen the WBA super lightweight champion over Devin Haney was palpable.
But now, Da La Hoya has vindication for offering a solid deal for Romero. He even rescued a fight between Garcia and Haney, so the promoter deserves his props.
The eleven-time world champion couldn’t resist a gloating response to Ellerbe, Romero, and Haymon over the falsity.
“[They are] Clowns, the Al Haymon Minions. This guy fighting co-main making cents on the dollar compared to what I offered,” blasted the former Pay Per View king.
Social media boasts by Ellerbe to those who ‘don’t know the business’ have considerably less clout than before due to being caught out. The video doesn’t lie, and the words came from Romero’s own lips.
All Ellerbe had to do was admit that the date and deal with Garcia didn’t work. Haymon needed a co-main for his first Amazon Prime PPV. Romero was simply the one to fill that void.
Undoubtedly, Ellerbe won’t hear the last of it from his social media detractors.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
