Pretty Portfolio: Mayweather Choosy With Endorsements
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Mayweather Hopes To
Make Himself A Brand Name |
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s earnings from his WBC welterweight title fight against Ricky Hatton this coming Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas "could be upwards of $20[M] after pay-per-view numbers are tallied," according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Mayweather Promotions (MP) CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, “After this fight, the only [athlete] who’ll be bigger than Floyd in terms of money earned in 2007 is Tiger Woods.” If PPV buys for the fight exceed 1.5 million, Mayweather will also be “the only fighter to do 4 million PPV buys in a calendar year.” Mayweather said, “I want to grow the Mayweather brand. That’s why we did ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and ‘24/7.’ That helps get my name and face out there to millions of people. My goal is to make ‘Mayweather’ a brand like adidas or Nike.” Ellerbe said that MP “has been swamped with endorsement proposals, but remains conservative.” Currently, MP is “working to help sponsor the current tours of entertainers Beyonce and Chris Brown.” Mayweather is also “involved with the launch of ‘Fever,’ a stimulation beverage … made with organic and herbal products.” He is also “working on a boxing video game he expects to be released” in ’08. Two movie deals are in place, and Mayweather “is considering a book deal for his life story." But he “isn’t cutting deals to endorse sportswear companies or soft drinks.” Ellerbe said, “Why be on the team when you can own the team?” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 12/4).
PAY THE PIPER: HBO’s Jim Lampley said of the Hatton-Mayweather fight, “With every big fight ... the essence of the attraction is, 'This may happen only once. I’ve got to see this because I don’t know if Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton will ever fight again. So I had better see this.' Thus, the marriage of boxing to pay cable and pay-per-view” (“Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller,” Versus, 12/4).
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