"Gervonta Davis is a tremendous fighter and he's doing his job, but Floyd Mayweather is doing his job too. Gervonta wouldn't be a two-time world champion this early in his career if it wasn't for Floyd. The promoter, the manager, the trainer, his entire team, everybody is working together for the same goal, but every opportunity that Gervonta Davis has gotten with Mayweather Promotions, that's because of Floyd Mayweather," stated Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who shared his thoughts on some recent statements made by world champion Gervonta Davis on social media. Check it out!
BT: Leonard, while I got you on the phone, I wanted to ask you if you had a chance to see some of the recent tweets that your fighter, Gervonta Davis, posted suggesting he was "under someone that doesn't want him to win"?
LE: I don't really know the details of what he's referring to, but I'm very disappointed to hear that those things were said on a platform like that. From what I'm understanding, he was upset about something, but if you're frustrated about something, there's a way to go about it. It's not a good look at all to air your laundry out on social media. At the end of the day, it's embarrassing.
BT: He mentioned someone telling his business to Al and not supporting him when he fights. Looking at those statements, do you get the sense that he was talking about Floyd, suggesting maybe that he's jealous of the success that he's having?
LE: I don't really pay attention to a lot of the back-and-forth nonsense that happens on social media. I have 2 events that we're promoting in the next 8 days, so that's where my focus is. But what I do know for a fact is that Floyd Mayweather is the most successful fighter of all time, earning over a billion dollars, so why would he be jealous of Gervonta's success and not want to see him win? How can Floyd be jealous when he's the one that put him on the biggest platform possible? Floyd is always concerned about having his best interest at heart, and that's evidenced by the opportunities and platforms that he's given Gervonta to have the success that he's had thus far. Gervonta is a tremendous fighter and he's doing his job, but Floyd is doing his job also. Gervonta wouldn't be a two-time world champion this early in his career if it wasn't for Floyd. The promoter, the manager, the trainer, his entire team, everybody is working together for the same goal, but every opportunity that Gervonta Davis has gotten since signing with Mayweather Promotions, Floyd Mayweather has signed off on. Floyd went out there to the world and anointed Gervonta by saying he was next up because we believe in him, and nothing has changed. Floyd went directly to Stephen Espinoza and continually expressed to him that Gervonta is the next superstar in this sport and he wanted Showtime to give him an opportunity to showcase his skills and look how his career has skyrocketed since then. That was a direct result of Floyd and his relationship.
After signing with Mayweather Promotions, Gervonta has become one of the hottest fighters in the entire sport. He was the youngest fighter to win a world title. Just last year, he had a platform where he fought three times before the end of August. I mean, he was showcased. He was a co-main [DeGale vs. Jack], a main [Davis vs. Walsh], and co-main to the second biggest fight ever in the history of the sport [Mayweather vs. McGregor]. These platforms that he's had are a direct result of Floyd wanting him to have these platforms. If he wanted him to fail, he wouldn't have put him on these platforms. It was Floyd's idea for Gervonta to fight for a second world title right away. It wasn't my idea and it wasn't Al's idea, that was Floyd's idea, so I don't know where this would come from if he's referring to him. How can Floyd not want Gervonta to win with all he's done to enable him to feed his family and put him in the position that he's in right now? That just doesn't make sense!
BT: From what you've seen since signing Gervonta, can you explain the type of relationship that Floyd has with him?
LE: Floyd has approached the situation from a mentoring perspective. People who care about you are going to do stuff that we don't like or agree with. Really, is that a bad thing? He doesn't want him to experience the type of pitfalls that arise for a fighter when they have the type of success that comes at such an early age. Floyd has tried to mentor him from that capacity because he's experienced the same success and pitfalls that come from being young and on top of the world. In any relationship, you're going to have a difference of opinions. Sometimes things can be taken the wrong way, but Floyd's a lot older and want the best for him. Floyd has genuine respect for him and I'm sure he looks at him like a son; that's only natural because he saw something special in him, and that's why he took him under his wing. Again, is that really a bad thing? What I don't want to see is things get blown out of proportion because, at the end of the day, what are we talking about?
Often times, promoters can be over-protective when it comes to younger fighters because their careers are in their hands and they would like to guide them in the right way. No situation is going to be perfect and you do have people out there who want to play the divide and conquer game because they want to see brothas going at each other and disrespecting each other, which is not cool. But trust and believe, fighters at all promotional companies have disagreements and they all would be lying if they say that they don't. Fighters at Top Rank, fighters at Golden Boy, fighters at Matchroom, fighters at DiBella Entertainment, fighters at Main Events, they all have disagreements with their promoters, it's the nature of the beast, but over here, we're concerned about your well-being both in and out of the ring. In boxing, you have such a short window of opportunity to make noise. If you have a disagreement with someone, it's probably not a good idea to air it out on social media. Let me be clear, Floyd is not perfect, I'm not perfect, Al's not perfect, nobody's perfect, but at the end of the day, we all have to be working on the same page to get the desired results that we all are seeking, which is for him to be successful in life and become the biggest star in the sport.
BT: When situations like this do arise, where a fighter might be feeling some type of way about something, what advice would you give them on how to handle it?
LE: In this life in general, and especially in this sport, you always want to maintain good relationships with the people you are working with that are making a difference in your career. You don't want to be going back and forth with your promoter because, in all likelihood, it's not going to work out in your favor. Often times, managers and promoters become like parents to these young fighters because we all want the best for him or her. Gervonta is a good young man, he's got good people around him, and I don't want to see him get caught up pushing someone else's agenda because one mistake can derail your entire career. I just want him to continue to have the laser focus that he's shown. He's doing a very good job and he turned the corner.
If there is an issue, I would suggest that he, or any fighter for that matter, pick up the phone and address it like men. There are so many elements to becoming a star and not having good will with your promoter is not the right direction to go in. When you have this kind of platform, everyone is listening and watching, from potential sponsors to fans to others who might have an impact on your career. As a man, you have to be accountable for the role or actions that you play in any relationship or situation. Understand how you got there, correct it, and move on. We often spend too much time worrying about negative things when we could be focusing on how to secure the next bag. My advice is continue to stay focused, stay humble, and stay in God's favor. Don't allow anyone or anything to block your blessings.
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