During a conversation with Fight Hub TV, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe talks about the upcoming Amazon Prime debut for PBC, headlined by Keith Thurman vs Tim Tszyu. Ellerbe is emphatic that the betting odds in Tszyu’s favor are much wider than warranted, and adds that he doesn’t believe the hype around Tsyzu is all it’s been made out to be. Check out some of what he had to say below.
“(Romero vs Cruz is) a tremendous fight,” Ellerbe said. “We know that Pitbull, he’s gonna come. He’s going to come and I think that’s going to play right into Rolly’s hands. Rolly knows this is a tremendous opportunity for him, and what a win like this does for his career. But I think he’s going to win in in emphatic (fashion). I think this fight ends in a knockout and I think Rolly’s going to clip him early. Would not surprise me if he gets him early, would not surprise me one bit.
“And then when you roll over to the main event (Thurman vs Tszyu), the most disrespectful thing I saw out there actually on the flight over this morning, I was looking at the odds and I was like ‘Tszyu is an 8-to-1 favorite?!’ This got to be a mistake.
“It’s no way in hell is this guy an 8-to-1 favorite over Keith Thurman. That’s not Floyd Mayweather, you know what I mean? So, again, (Tsyzu) has been doing his thing and I give him his props but Keith is a whole different type of fighter. They can say what they want to about inactivity, those are facts, but again, I know what’s been going on and he’s been battling through injuries. But also one of the major things, one guy’s been more active than the other, but the other’s guys body is much more preserved. Much more preserved and Keith’s got a lot of experience.
“I think this fight is going to play right into Keith’s hands. We see what kind of fighter Tszyu is and again, I’m gonna say he’s a good fighter but just being honest, I don’t think it’s kind of what people think it is. I don’t think it is what people think it is. It’s cool to say you want all these big names, it’s cool to say that, timing is everything.
“I’ve watched (Tszyu’s) most recent fights very closely but he ain’t no 8-to-1 favorite against Keith Thurman, I promise you that. I’ve been around this boxing shit for a long, long time. The fight is going to be what it’s going to be but I’m telling you Keith Thurman coming to win and in my eyes he got a tremendous chance to win this fight.
“This is a 50/50 fight. It’s disrespectful, them odds…It’s just a narrative. Some of these guys, especially the elite fighters should be more busier, I would agree, but also they’re making that choice. They’re making that choice.
“When have you seen Keith come off a long layoff and he looked like he’s had a lot of ring rust? Look at the Barrios fight, that’s just a prime example. Keith Thurman is a really good fighter and it’s time people put some respect on his name.”