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Leonard Ellerbe, who has been involved with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) since its inception, believes that if Danny Garcia defeats current WBA middleweight titleholder, Erislandy Lara, he will secure his place in the Boxing Hall of Fame.
During Tuesday’s media workout, Ellerbe participated in the live stream, previewing the co-feature between Lara and Garcia, which takes place on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Ellerbe, who was formerly the CEO of Mayweather Promotions until June 2024, has continued to be featured at PBC events, including this media workout. Having watched both fighters evolve over the past decade, Ellerbe expressed high praise for Garcia, asserting that a victory would solidify his legacy in Canastota, New York.
“If Danny can pull it off, I think he goes into the Hall of Fame,” Ellerbe said to Cynthia Conte on the PBC livestream.
Ellerbe compared Garcia’s potential achievement to those of boxing legends Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto, both of whom held titles at junior welterweight and middleweight. Garcia had an impressive run at junior welterweight, defeating Amir Khan and Lucas Matthysse as an underdog before capturing a title at welterweight. However, he struggled to maintain that success at the top of the division after his first loss to Keith Thurman in 2017.
“He would join elite company,” Ellerbe said if Garcia were to win.
Lara, at 41 years old, can no longer move as he once did, leading to more action-oriented fights as Lara now sits down on his punches and throws with power. Meanwhile, 36-year-old Garcia is new to the middleweight division with only one fight at junior middle under his belt.
“It’s going to be a great fight,” Ellerbe said. “Lara’s style now, he sits down more on his punches, he doesn’t move a lot. It will be a very good, fan-friendly fight.”