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LEONARD ELLERBE DISCUSSES "BIGGEST AND BADDEST" CARD OF 2018; EXPLAINS WHY HE EXPECTS GERVONTA DAVIS TO CLIP CUELLAR

By Ben Thompson | April 19, 2018
LEONARD ELLERBE DISCUSSES

"We expect no less than that in the Cuellar fight. He's a very aggressive fighter. I was just reading something about his trainer, Manny Robles Jr., made some comments that they expect to be in Gervonta's chest from the opening bell. Well, that's a great thing. If that's their game plan, I expect Cuellar to get clipped. One thing we do know is that Gervonta is a good boxer and he's a phenomenal puncher. He can punch with either hand. That fight is going to be electrifying," stated Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who talked about Saturday's tripleheader featuring Broner vs. Vargas, Davis vs. Cuellar, and Charlo vs. Centeno Jr. Check it out!

BT: L, you guys have a big card this weekend with Tank, Charlo, and Twin (Adrien Broner) headlining. I have to admit, I was a little shocked to see Jessie Vargas pegged as the favorite going into his fight with AB.

LE: It's a great fight; two contrasting styles. Both have big fight experience and obviously the oddsmakers must see something. I'm not big on following what they say one way or another, but it's quite interesting that Broner opened up as the favorite and now Jessie Vargas is the slight favorite to win this Saturday night.

BT: Is there anything that fighters can do leading up to a fight that might change those odds? For instance, I know Broner's been real quiet for most of his camp, but as soon as fight week hit, he started beeging with that rapper. Does anything like that impact the odds in any way?

LE: Well there's a number of things that go into affecting the odds, but one thing's for sure, we know that both guys are going to be prepared and I expect a great, great fight; much better than people will probably anticipate. We have a much better fight with Vargas now as opposed to Broner's original opponent, Omar Figueroa. 

BT: I know Jessie's been doing some of his training at the Mayweather Boxing Club. Have you had a chance to get a firsthand look at him?

LE: Being in Vegas, I've had the opportunity to see Jessie work during his camp and I know for a fact he's in tip-top shape. He's had phenomenal sparring and mentally he's focused to come do the job. Will he be able to do it? You'll have to tune in this Saturday night to see. I know that he has tremendous support in Vegas. I was very suprirsed and happy to see the amount of media support he had for his open workout last week. Jessie has crazy support in Vegas and that's just due to, over the years, a lot of media have covered him and they've always enjoyed talking to him. He makes for great interviews and he's highly knowledgeable of the sport. He's looking to take his career to the next level. A win this weekend puts him right in the thick of things with all the other great welterweights. But in order for that to happen, he has to take care of business this Saturday night.

BT: Obviously, you also have your guy, Gervonta Davis, facing off against Jesus Cuellar. That's not an easy fight; Cuellar's a big puncher. You guys aren't afraid to put your fighters in with tough opposition.

LE: No, not at all. Floyd has done a great job with that, having a great understanding that we want our guys in big fights; fights that are entertaining, but also competitive. We expect no less than that in the Cuellar fight. He's a very aggressive fighter. I was just reading something about his trainer, Manny Robles Jr., made some comments that they expect to be in Gervonta's chest from the opening bell. Well, that's a great thing. If that's their game plan, I expect Cuellar to get clipped. One thing we do know is that Gervonta is a good boxer and he's a phenomenal puncher. He can punch with either hand. That fight is going to be electrifying. Gervonta is looking to put on a great performance and he'll be looking to steal the show. I know the entire DMV is dialed in. Gervonta is must-see TV. He don't play with it when he steps in that ring. He turns into a totally different person and that's what the fans like. 

BT: I know you said Gervonta is looking to steal the show, but I have a feeling it's going to be the other big fight on the card, Charlo vs. Centeno Jr., that does that.

LE: That is going to be another barnburner. I think that Centeno is very underrated; a very good fighter. We know that Charlo is coming to make a big statement. He already feels that he's the best fighter in the division; he's just gotta go out and prove it and it's just a matter of time. He wants to put everyone on notice that he's the boss of the division. It all starts with Centeno. And Centeno feels that Charlo is overlooking him and he's looking to pull off the upset. That's going to be another great fight. This is one of the best cards that we've assembled in I can't remember. From top to bottom, it's a loaded card.

BT: On paper, this is definitely the best card, top to bottom, so far in 2018. I know Mayweather Promotions has promoted the four biggest events in combat sports, so I'm sure you're used to being involved in big fights. That being said, those events were also headlined by the biggest name in combat sports, Floyd Mayweather. What's it like for you to be promoting a card like this where you don't have that one big name, but instead you have multiple names all vying for that top spot?

LE: It's quite different. Obviously the Floyd fights are just so big. I mean, record-breaking numbers. But it's exciting to be working with all these great young fighters and watching them try to get to that next level, create these fan bases, be part of these big events, and understand what it takes to get to that next level. It's exciting to see it all come together with these young fighters. It's a blessing and Mayweather Promotions is very excited to be promoting these kind of events. We're the past, the present, and the future of sports and entertainment. This is what Floyd has envisioned for quite some time and everything has come together. We're just lookig to keep this thing rolling. Showtime has rolled out the phenomenal series of fights for the first half of the year and it gets better the second half. We're just excited we're promoting these big, big events and being out in the forefront. It's great to be working with other promoters like TGB and Lou [DiBella] and all the other promoters that are out there. These are great times for boxing. But this weekend's card is the biggest and baddest card of 2018. This is a must-see card.



[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]

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