Not too long along the only affiliation Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, had with boxing was his friendship with Floyd ?Money? Mayweather Jr. The two stars became friends years back and 50 would often be seen tagging along with Money during his infamous spending sprees. The ?Money? team had adopted 50 into its click and the two became inseparable over the past couple years, with 50 making regular appearances on HBO?s 24/7 whenever Mayweather was fighting. A few months back the pair decided they wanted to use their business savvy and team up together to form ?TMT Promotions?. It appeared 50 and Money was ready to take the boxing world by storm with their new promotional company, who had already signed Yuriorkis Gamboa and Andre Dirrell, among others. Then we received news over the past few days that TMT Promotions was no longer and that 50 actually was interested in teaming up with Mayweather?s rival, Manny Pacquiao to form a new company.
The news sent shockwaves throughout the boxing community and many were trying to speculate what happened between 50 and Money. Whatever the case may be it appears the business venture is over and while Mayweather has recently claimed he has no issues with 50, I have a hard time believing it. While Mayweather has been busy denying any beef between the two, 50 wasted little time crying over the breakup. During the promotional kick-off for Pacquiao-Marquez 4, 50 was spotted in attendance and even posed for a photo with Pacman.
So what does this all mean for the boxing community? Well whenever I found out that 50 and Money were coming together to form a new promotional company I was ecstatic. Two very smart business men combining their knowledge and star power would only help increase boxing exposure and shake up the Top Rank and Golden Boy feud. I also thought this would help increase the possibility of Pacquaio-Mayweather, as Bob Arum sounded optimistic about working out a deal with TMT Promotions. However, with 50 now teaming up with Pacman I can only image Mayweather?s unwillingness to strike a deal to make the fight happen. All in all, it appears 50 Cent has thrown a curveball to the boxing scene and will be a major player in the sport going forward. I am excited to see what ideas and publicity 50 will bring to boxing and fans should be as well.
