Did the feud between Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta Davis see its first victim? Unlikely, but who is the victim? Well, it’s none other than Leonard Ellerbe, the now-former CEO of Mayweather Promotions. ‘Money’ Mayweather officially announced Ellerbe’s exit on Instagram on Thursday and now, his role in the company has been taken up by Golden Boy Promotions’ former CEO Richard Schaefer. 

While there were rumors of the same happening, the update came as a bit of a shock for all! Ellerbe has been Floyd Mayweather’s close confidante ever since the latter’s early boxing career, but things seem to have changed as Mayweather Promotions have rather fallen off in recent years. Amid all this, Floyd’s uncle Jeff Mayweather has shed light on how Ellerbe handled the tumultuous relationship between Davis and Mayweather.

Leonard Ellerbe didn’t want to pick sides in Mayweather – Gervonta Davis beef

Speaking to Jeff Mayweather, the reporter from ‘The Mayweather Channel’ probed him about Ellerbe, asking how the former CEO dealt with Floyd and Davis’ beef. It’s worth mentioning that despite the disagreements between Floyd and Davis over the years, Ellerbe has always praised Davis and what he has managed to accomplish in his career.

Whereas, Mayweather has often taken sly digs at Davis since the boxer parted ways with his promotion. Things had gotten so bad that Davis had even started rumors about Floyd being stuck in Dubai, as the duo openly started beefing on social media platforms. So, in response to the question, Jeff acknowledged that it was indeed extremely tough for Ellerbe to deal with the situation. However, he highlighted, “A lot of times friends want you to pick sides.”

Get the EssentiallySports Daily Newsletter. Stay ahead of the game with daily updates, exclusive stories, expert takes, and the biggest moments from the world's most popular sports.

Yet, it seems Ellerbe opted to be smart with his actions, as Jeff described, “But I mean, Leonard is smart enough not to pick sides and he just kept in business.” In the meantime, Schaefer has reflected on taking up Ellerbe’s old spot!

Richard Schaefer shares mutual respect with Floyd Mayweather 

Schaefer, a Swiss national who started his career in the banking sector, worked with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Promotions from 2000 to 2016 and went on to start boxing promotions Ringstar Sports and Probellum with mixed results. However, since he has promoted some great pay-per-view fights with Mayweather, he took the job while being in the good books of the former five-division champion.

According to a conversation with Boxing Scene, Schaefer said on Thursday, “Floyd and [I] have been friends for a long time, and we have obviously had great success.” Praising Floyd’s popularity and global reach, Schaefer said, “He really is a brand”, and hopes to use his business acumen and Floyd’s reach to take the company to new heights, “Within boxing and outside of boxing as well.”

With that said, Leonard Ellerbe might not have left because of the feud between Floyd Mayweather and Gervonta Davis, but one can’t help wondering whether it played a key part in his departure. What do you think?