Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe secured several pats on the back as reasons for the Haney vs Garcia Las Vegas block were aired.
Devin Haney’s WBC super lightweight title defense against Ryan Garcia was forced to move to New York despite several days of negotiations over staging in Nevada.
The dates proved unworkable because Canelo Alvarez blocked out a few weeks’ worth of weekends for his May 4 extravaganza. Premier Boxing Champions boss Al Haymon made sure he placed the Nevada Commission on notice regarding Canelo as the pair approach a second event working together.
Ellerbe has worked closely with Floyd Mayweather for decades and knows the Pay Per View business like the back of his hand. He had stated previously that there was no guarantee Haney vs Garcia would be staged in Vegas.
Mayweather CEO told promoters not to rush Haney vs Garcia
“Every fight can’t go in Vegas for several reasons. Brooklyn is fire. Tank sold that out and broke the arena record,” Ellerbe stated in a conversation with a fan about Haney vs Garcia being forced to NYC. “The energy in the building was crazy. As a Twitter Promoter, you should know the answer to your question!”
In addition, he explained: “They wouldn’t lose money in Vegas, and they won’t in Brooklyn. It’s a good fight. But there are levels to doing the business.”
Ellerbe was one step ahead of the game before Garcia stated his displeasure over New York hosting.
“We never announce things prematurely over here. Everyone is always impatient. That’s how you leave money on the table. When you rush, you make mistakes.”
After Garcia made his stunning announcement that he wants to find a way to take the Haney fight to Vegas, Ellerbe replied: “There’s only one person in this equation who openly hates on the PBC, and it’s not the fighter.
“When you are rushing and don’t have everything buttoned up, this kind of [stuff] happens. I love Brooklyn, but Vegas is where the big [bucks] are at. Not rocket science genius.”
Moreover, Ellerbe was accused of being happy about the PBC blocking by Bill Haney. He was later exonerated by Devin himself, who revealed the reason for the switch.
The reason Haney vs Garcia had to move
“The reason the [Ryan Garcia] fight is not happening in Vegas is that they don’t want to affect Canelo ticket sales,” said the former lightweight king.
Jared Kass, SVP of North America DAZN, is excited about adding Haney vs Garcia to the DAZN schedule no matter where it’s staged.
“We are incredibly excited to be broadcasting this mega fight live on DAZN PPV,” said Kass. “Devin and Ryan are the two next superstars of US boxing. But only one can be crowned the final bell on April 20.
“This stacked night of boxing joins an already packed spring schedule. The line-up sees Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou fight on March 8 and the undisputed heavyweight title between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18. There are also countless domestic matchups. All live and only on DAZN.”
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
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