By Chris Robinson
Emotions came to a head between former friends Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Friday night when the two men exchanged salvos with one another on their personal Twitter accounts.
Once looked at like brothers to one another, it now appears that the personal and professional differences between Mayweather and 50 Cent have become far too serious for them to ever consider rekindling their bond.
The two were thought to have been collaborating on a promotional company titled TMT Promotions but in the wake of the fallout, 50 Cent has moved in his own direction while still finding himself aligned with former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, IBF featherweight titlist Billy Dib, and super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell while looking to launch his own SMS Promotions.
During my conversation with Larry Merchant on Sunday night, I advised the veteran HBO analyst about the exact details of their war of words between Floyd and 50 Cent via social networking and in return he gave me his thoughts on the situation.
“It sounds awfully personal but at the same time it sounds like 50 Cent is learning something about trying to make money and make it a better fight between the promoters than the fighters,” Merchant quipped.
As reported by BoxingScene.com, it appears that 50 Cent’s rift with Mayweather very well could be costing Dib a slot on the Dec. 1 Miguel Cotto-Austin Trout undercard in New York.
It’s no secret that Mayweather’s advisor Al Haymon works very closely with Golden Boy Promotions. Golden Boy and Haymon are working with Cotto, a promotional free agent in the final stretch of his career, in staging his fight inside of Madison Square Garden.
So while an appearance on the Cotto card would be excellent exposure for Dib, it looks as though 50 Cent may be getting phased out in this particular scenario.
Merchant knows all too well of the competitive nature of the sport and feels that 50 Cent may find things a bit hard early on.
“I don’t know where 50 Cent comes from, but ‘Welcome to the big city’,” Merchant stated. “Look, of course it’s a learning process. Because you’re good at one thing doesn’t mean you’re going to be good at something else. We’ll see how he’s able to make alliances and play the game outside the ropes.”
In time, Merchant points out, we’ll find out what 50 Cent is truly made of as far as far as his latest business endeavor goes.
“I don’t know who his friends are,” Merchant added. “We’re finding out who his enemies are, but I don’t know who his friends are. Right now, he’s just another wannabe promoter with a few fighters, none of whom are big attractions. So, whatever his reputation is in the music world, doesn’t necessarily translate into the boxing world.”
