Leonard Ellerbe, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s right-hand man and CEO of his Mayweather Promotions, said he was excited about the business union between Mayweather and rap star 50 Cent, Mayweather's close friend.
"I think that Floyd and 50 coming together is great for boxing," Ellerbe told ESPN.com on Thursday. "You have two smart guys and when great minds work together, you can have nothing but great results."
50 Cent plans to be involved in boxing and recently received a promoters license in New York for TMT Promotions -- which stands for "The Money Team," what Mayweather calls his crew. He also is in the process of the license application process in Nevada.
On Wednesday night, during a Twitter tiff with Oscar De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions has promoted Mayweather's past six fights on a fight-by-fight basis, 50 Cent tweeted to De La Hoya: "I don't gamble, Floyd do, but I bet you [that] you won't be promoting Floyd Mayweather no more. TMT PROMOTIONS."
Obviously, 50 Cent plans on being Mayweather's promoter once he is released on Aug. 3 from the Clark County Detention Center, where he has been serving time since June 1 for a domestic abuse conviction.
It seems like a good bet he will be.
While Ellerbe wouldn't comment specifically on whether Mayweather would be promoted by TMT Promotions or on where Golden Boy and Mayweather stand, he did say Mayweather is a part owner of TMT.
"They're forming a joint venture and this is great for boxing," Ellerbe said. "You got two young men who are in their prime and they both have great vision."
Ellerbe said he and Mayweather have not talked about the deal in any detail during his incarceration.
"I haven't talked to Floyd about boxing since the day he went (to jail on June 1)," Ellerbe said. "Me and (Mayweather adviser) Al (Haymon) have been here trying to facilitate his daily needs and our concerns have been about his health and welfare and trying to see him out of this horrible situation as soon as possible."
Ellerbe also declined to say if he was part of Mayweather's venture with 50 Cent, but said he has been busy handling a litany of deals and paperwork for Mayweather since his incarceration.
Ellerbe also said he hasn't talked to Mayweather about setting up a fall fight. Before Mayweather outpointed Miguel Cotto to win a junior middleweight title on May 5, Mayweather said that once he was out of jail he wanted to fight again before the end of the year.
Mayweather, who calls himself "Money," probably made in excess of $40 million for his fight with Cotto and was named by Forbes magazine as the highest paid athlete in the world for 2011 with $85 million earned.
The venture with 50 Cent will add even more money to his bankroll, Ellerbe said.
"Floyd is a genius with how he's been able to market himself throughout his career," Ellerbe said. "Floyd is on the right path in business to achieve his goal, which was to become a billionaire, so he is definitely on the right track. I'm a firm believer that it will happen sooner than later. Floyd has so many ideas that I think you'll see start to come together."