You know since ESPN is always ripping off people’s stories and claiming it as their own I thought maybe I should do the same to them, but I like Dan Rafeal. Read his story below.
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.
[via ESPN]
