By Mark Vester

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his close adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, have spoken out on the reasoning for a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, and why a fight with WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto does not make sense. According to both men, Floyd is chasing mainstream fame and the big money. Mayweather and Ellerbe don't feel Cotto is a big enough fight to take. Instead he is on the path to facing De La Hoya for a second time in September.

“Boxing is Floyd’s platform, but it’s not a mainstream sport anymore,” Ellerbe tells writer Carlo Rotella. “To get into the mainstream, you have to do mainstream things. [Mayweather has] elevated the brand and expanded the fan base [and become] an A-lister. Boxers have such a short window of opportunity to earn a living as boxers. Two years ago, the promoters weren’t saying Floyd is scared, ’cause he was with the company. Now, suddenly, he’s scared and won’t fight nobody?”

"A fight has to make sense. The other guy has to bring something to the table. “We’re the industry leaders. People are going to take shots at us, but it’s like if there’s a crap game and Floyd has a million dollars and these guys have $200, why’s he gonna play with them? How can Cotto say he has a fan base when he fights on pay-per-view and does 160,000 buys with Zab Judah at Madison Square Garden?”

“We’ve established the model on how a boxer conducts his business. Floyd is in control. He already paid his dues and fought who he had to fight. Now he can decide what he’s going to do.”

Mayweather already consider himself the greatest boxer of all-time, now wants to "entertain." At this point of his career, he's looking for the fights and outside opportunities where he can make the most money.

“No disrespect to Sugar Ray Robinson,” Mayweather told Rotella. "But was he undefeated? Did he win six titles in five weight classes? I’ll be honest, boxing comes so easy to me I don’t even think about it. I’m here to entertain. . . . Work is work. I’m gonna make a lot of money, but this is also a learning stage of my life. I’m learning different ways to promote. Other fighters have to fight. I don’t have to fight. I already went through that stage when I fought 90 fights for free [amateur ranks]. I already proved it to myself. Once you reach pound for pound, you already proved everything.”

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