Luis ‘Cuba’ Arias was one of the most dedicated members of TMT and Mayweather promotions. There wasn’t a time when he wasn’t in the gym working out or walking around Las Vegas wearing a TMT shirt, so it is surprising to see that he has been released by Mayweather promotions.
Luis seemed to be as surprised as everyone else because in the video below he can be seen in front of Mayweather Gym demanding an explanation from Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather himself.
Here’s the full account of the incident according to Arias:
“Basically on Saturday night, I was at home sleeping with my baby. I received a phone call in the middle of the night from J’Leon Love, saying that I was about to get released from Mayweather Promotions. Mind you it’s the middle of the night. I was like ‘okay, until i hear it from Floyd’s mouth I’m going to continue doing what I’ve been doing,'” Arias said.
“I went to the gym on Monday, Floyd is there and I was going there to work out,” Arias continued. “I went up to him and said ‘what’s up.’ He said ‘what’s up’ and looked away. He was leaving on his way out to the gym and you can see in the video that I approached him. I felt that the way he handled releasing me was very unprofessional. How are you going to have someone that I’ve been cool with, since I was a kid, tell me some foul sh*t like that. I felt that was bogus.”
“To make things clear, how are you going to release me when you don’t have me on contract and I’m clearly the best fighter you got. You give me no explanation on why you’re releasing me and I approached him. I said ‘you’re not going to say nothing to me, you’re just going to ignore me.’ I thought that was real foul. He owns the company and this is his show and I thought that was real foul.”
“When J’Leon approached me, I told him ‘this has nothing to do with you.’ I just felt Floyd should have called me himself. He should have called me and said ‘I’m mad at this, this and this and I’m going to release you’ and then I can’t say nothing. All I can say is ‘Floyd, I respect you’ and thank him for the opportunity. All I’ve done is thank him for the last two years. I’ve taken all these fights and not complained. I haven’t always got the best opponents and I never complained. I should have been on TV and I never complained. I’ve been quiet and winning for him. I got the most wins for this company since the very beginning. I’ve been playing my role.”
There’s been a lot of weird things happening around Mayweather as of late. He’s also cut ties with long-time friend and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbee. Ellerbee had been in Floyd’s camp for as long as anyone can remember and he ended that without batting an eye.
Arias seems to think he knows exactly why he was cut by Mayweather:
“Honestly, I think it [does have to do with the Rahmans],” he said. “There is no other reason behind it. That has to be what it is… When I had no money, when I had no place to stay, when I had no food, when I was trying to find my way into the game – they was taking care of me. I’m literally a part of their family. I can’t turn my back on them when they helped me when I had no food and Floyd wasn’t even [in the equation]. That’s what it came down to, my relationship with the Rahmans. I understand Floyd doesn’t want me associating with them, but I can’t turn my back on them. That is over something that I have no control over. That whole situation has nothing to do with me.”