"Our date is May the 5th and it is what it is," stated Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who once again made it crystal clear that they're still hoping to face Manny Pacquiao on May 5, the date that Floyd Mayweather has already committed to. Although Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, insists that the earliest the fight could take place is late May, Ellerbe explained that Mayweather will not be able to fight on any other date due to the agreement that was reached with the judge who postponed his surrender date. "Legally, we cannot move off May the 5th. We don't have that option," he commented.
Ellerbe also made it clear that Team Mayweather, as well as the public, has "grown sick and tired" of Arum's excuses, which have seemed to change "from day to day, from week to week." Despite the fact that Paquiao himself originally said last month that he had no problems with fighting on May 5, his promoter has come up with several reasons as to why the fight can't take place on that date. From needing more time to promote the bout, to his own desire to build a temporary 40,000-seat outdoor arena, Arum's stance is that there's no way that Pacquiao will be fighting on May 5. Ellerbe, however, strongly disagrees with Arum's reasoning.
"This ridiculous, another ridiculous excuse, that we would need more time to promote the fight, how much damn time do you need," he would members of the media in attendance at Mayweather's gym, dismissing the notion that if the fight is staged on May 5, there won't be enough time to properly promote the event. According to Ellerbe, the fight is so big and has been talked about for so long that it doesn't any promotion other than the official announcement. "This ridiculous, another ridiculous excuse, that we would need more time to promote the fight, how much damn time do you need? This fight has been talked about for 2 years now," he continued. "All you gotta do is say the word and this fight essentially promotes itself, because it's a fight that, it funds itself and this is the fight that all the fans want to see."
On the subject of Arum's 40,000-seat outdoor arena, not only does Ellerbe think the concept is absurd, but he also thinks there's a good chance that unforeseen delays in construction, such as inclement weather or a lack of materials, could even prevent such a project from being completed by late May. "He alleges that this temporary venue would generate about $60 million, so if you do the math on that, that would be saying that the average ticket price for the fans would be $1500 a ticket for some bleacher seatings, I repeat, for some bleaching seatings out in the middle of a dusty parking lot with temporary bathrooms. And this is the funny part, the farthest seat would be like 100 yards away, the length of a football field," Ellerbe commented. "as we all know, anytime that there's construction involved, there always could be delays; there always could be delays. So, remember this, we don't have no wiggle room to move our date. Our date is May the 5th and it is what it is. So imagine the likelihood of this temporary venue that Mr. Arum is talking about not being ready. So that would mean we would have to move the date. Oh, by the way, Mr. Mayweather has to surrender on June the 1st, oh, so therefore, we couldn't do a fight. Imagine that." With Mayweather scheduled to turn himself in on June 1, that's simply a chance that they can't take.
Ellerbe sees nothing but excuses coming from Arum, who he thinks is simply diverting the public's attention so he can avoid giving the fans the fight they all want to see. "He's the one that's been playing games from the very start, misleading the public, trying to make it seem that Floyd Mayweather's the reason why the fight hasn't been made to this point. There's been excuse after excuse, you know, from day to day, from week to week, and I think the public is sick and tired of it. Either you gonna fight or you're not," he continued. "I think that we have a moral resopnsibility to the public to give them this fight, you know? There's plenty enough money on the table for both fighters."
As far as Ellerbe is concerned, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever why fans can't be watching the biggest fight in boxing on May 5. "Floyd just wants to give the fans what they want. He knows the fans are demanding this fight and he just wants to give the fans what they want," Ellerbe added. "When it's time to make the deal, we're not arguing about money and all that stuff. Just cut the lying and the BS out and let's make the fight." Floyd Mayweather himself would later reiterate, "May 5th. What else can I say? May 5th, I want to give the fans, the media, and the people what they want to see, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. This is the biggest fight in boxing history. Let's make it happen! Y'all put pressure on him. Ask him, 'What's going on?'"
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