Rapper 50 Cent seems in, Golden Boy Promotions out as Floyd Mayweather’s promoter

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Rapper 50 Cent seems in, Golden Boy Promotions out as Floyd Mayweather’s promoterBy Kevin Iole | Boxing – 18 hours ago <br />
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Floyd Mayweather (L) may soon have a new promoter, his buddy, rapper 50...

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50 Cent Becomes Promoter, Set to Sign Gamboa and Dirrell; Fan's Take

By Paul Magno | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Mon, Jul 23, 2012 11:27 AM EDT

Rapper and actor, 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson), has been tight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for quite some time and rumors have long circulated that he has been looking to personally get involved in the boxing business.

Recently, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that the platinum seller has created TMT Promotions (TMT stands for "The Money Team") and that the upstart promotional firm is currently licensed in New York with a license also pending in Nevada.

Already, the rapper is making waves in the boxing world with the strongly-rumored signing of two high-profile fighters in Yuriorkis Gamboa and Andre Dirrell.

Gamboa, who recently broke away from Top Rank, balked at the deal presented to him for a bout with Brandon Rios and was bent on sitting out his time with Bob Arum's company before being allowed to buy out his contract. The talented Cuban Olympic gold medalist and former featherweight world titlist has elite-level abilities and will rise to the top of either the featherweight or super featherweight division as soon as he begins competing again.

Dirrell, who is significantly less accomplished than Gamboa, is also a world class fighter. The quick, athletic super middleweight lost a controversial decision to Carl Froch in his opening bout of the Super Six tournament. He would then beat Arthur Abraham via eleventh round disqualification when Abraham connected with a knockout head shot after Dirrell had slipped on the wet canvas. Following the Abraham victory, Dirrell pulled out of the tournament citing injuries sustained from the illegal blow and has only fought once since March of 2010.

With Gamboa and Dirrell signed, TMT Promotions will suddenly find itself as a significant presence in the sport. Given 50 Cent's high profile in the mainstream world and the reemergence of two inactive world class fighters, this should mean good things for boxing. Frankly, any move away from the status quo in the sport should be seen as a positive, especially when a major entertainment figure decides to join the fray.

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If Dana White ran this sport it would no longer be a joke..

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50 Cent-De La Hoya Twitter tiff Dan Rafael espn
Boxing fans know rapper 50 Cent -- real name Curtis Jackson -- as Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s best buddy. He has been at Mayweather's side during episodes of HBO's "24/7" and is a regular at Mayweather's fights and press conferences.

But now he may also be poised to become Mayweather's promoter when the fighter is released from jail following a domestic abuse conviction. The pound-for-pound king, who entered the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on June 1 for an 87-day sentence, is due to be released Aug. 3 for good behavior.

Although Mayweather has worked with Golden Boy Promotions on a fight-by-fight basis for all six of his bouts since 2007, they do not have a long-term agreement.

50 Cent recently received a promoters license from the New York State Athletic Commission for his company TMT Promotions. The acronym stands for "The Money Team," which is what Mayweather, the highest-paid athlete in the world last year ($85 million), according to Forbes magazine, calls his crew. 50 Cent is also in the application process to receive a promoters license in Nevada, according to Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

On Wednesday night, 50 Cent and Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya -- whom Mayweather defeated in his first fight with Golden Boy in their record-shattering pay-per-view fight -- mixed it up on Twitter, with 50 Cent including in their exchange, "I don't gamble, Floyd do, but I bet you [that] you won't be promoting Floyd Mayweather no more. TMT PROMOTIONS."

Although both had deleted the tweets that were part of their spat by Thursday morning, several more messages were sent, including the one that seemed to set off the back-and-forth, when De La Hoya wrote: "Everyone wanting to be a boxing promoter? Good luck. Easier said than done."

50 Cent responded to De La Hoya with a series of tweets that included, "Sweetheart, I'm surprised you would respond to me and Floyd starting company the way you did" and "Baby girl, @oscardelahoya, baby girl you hear me, stop hating STOP IT RIGHT NOW."

Although it has been common knowledge in boxing circles that 50 Cent was pursuing a promoters license, De La Hoya at one point answered him with, "You're a boxing promoter? Didn't know, but good luck. Maybe we can work [together] someday. #success #nextgeneration #GBB #TMT."

50 Cent's response: "Great back pedal. Can you swim backwards like that too, girl? LOL. I [accept] that as [an] apology."

Mayweather, a welterweight champion, moved up in weight and claimed a junior middleweight title for the second time when he outpointed Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a fight that sold a whopping 1.5 million pay-per-view units. During the lead-up to the fight, Mayweather said he planned to fight again following his jail sentence and before the end of the year.

Two other free-agent fighters on the verge of signing with TMT Promotions are former featherweight titleholder Yuriorkis Gamboa, a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who is tight with Mayweather, and super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell, a 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and Super Six World Boxing Classic participant.

Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer couldn't be reached for comment, nor could Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers and the CEO of Mayweather's own promotional company, Mayweather Promotions.

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Key Floyd Mayweather adviser calls 50 Cent’s new promotional company a “breath of fresh air”By Kevin Iole | Boxing – 15 hours ago <br />
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Leonard Ellerbe (L) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (AP)Leonard ...