By Edward Chaykovsky
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO for Mayweather Promotions, is very upset with the World Boxing Organization's decision to strip Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the WBO welterweight title.
Mayweather captured the title with a twelve round unanimous decision victory over Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd.
Afterwards the Pacquiao victory, Mayweather announced that he was planning to vacate all of his belts.
Based on his announcement, the WBO sanctioned last month's bout between Tim Bradley and Jessie Vargas for the vacant belt. But then Mayweather's attorney appealed their sanction and made them aware that Floyd had never dropped the belt.
The WBO changed Bradley-Vargas to an interim-title bout and gave Mayweather until July 3rd to pay $200,000 sanction fee from the Pacquiao fight and also he was required to vacate his WBC/WBA titles at junior middleweight. The WBO rules prevent any fighter from holding titles in multiple weight divisions.
Last Friday came and went, with no word from Mayweather or his team. On Monday the WBO announced that Mayweather was officially stripped of the WBO title and Bradley was elevated to the status of full champion.
Mayweather has 14 days to appeal their ruling. Ellerbe believes the WBO played favorites in the situation, because of the sanctioning organization's close relationship with Bradley's promoter, Top Rank.
"It's a complete disgrace. Floyd will decide what, or if any, actions he will take. But in the meantime he's enjoying a couple of hundred million he made from his last outing and this has zero impact on anything he does," Ellerbe told ESPN.
"Floyd Mayweather has a great deal of respect for each and every organization, as he has always had in his 19-year career, but he will not be dictated to by any organization or person as it relates to his decision making."
"I'm not surprised at all because of the individuals involved we're talking about. We have the best attorney in the game, John Hornewer, and we are fully aware of what our rights are. Floyd will decide what he wants to do."
