50 Cent Q&A: Mayweather is ‘not the sharpest knife in the drawer

50 Cent talks about Gamboa vs Crawford, Floyd Mayweather, Richard Schafer, Al Haymon and more. 50 Cent Q&A: Mayweather is ‘not the sharpest knife in the drawer’ Anson Wainwright June 24, 2014 It’s been a quiet first half of the year for Curits “50 Cent” Jackson and SMS Promotions. That will change on Saturday when Yuriorkis Gamboa, the jewel of Jackson’s promotional crown, meets WBO lightweight titleholder Terence Crawford live on HBO. That Top Rank co-promotion is quickly followed by a special Wednesday, July 2, edition of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights headlined by an IBF junior lightweight title eliminator between Mark Davis and Michael Farenas. “I’m excited about it, it’s a great matchup,” Jackson, the owner of SMS Promotions, told ******.com when asked about Crawford-Gamboa. “It’s what I want to be associated with in the sport of boxing. It is real competition.” Currently SMS Promotions has 11 fighters under contract. Jackson intends to expand that roster soon. “Between now and the end of the year the changes that are going on in the sport of boxing allows me to feel it’s the perfect time for growth,” he said. Aside from boxing, Jackson has been extremely busy with several other projects including the release of his new album “Animal Ambition.” He is also the executive producer of the critically acclaimed drama series Power, which started a second season on the Starz cable network in earlier this month. Here’s what 50 Cent had to say about SMS Promotions, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his life in general: Anson Wainwright – On June 28, you’ll be in Omaha, Neb. with Gamboa for his WBO lightweight title fight. What are your thoughts on that bout? Curtis Jackson – I think it’s gonna be a good fight. For the first time they’re both matched with someone with the same record. I don’t think they have the same experience, Gamboa has four gold medals because of his larger amateur career. Both being 23-0 with 16 knockouts is significant. In the sport of boxing, they all have a punchers chance when they reach that calibre of talent. I’m excited about it. It’s a great match up. It’s what I want to be associated with in the sport of boxing. It is real competition. Gamboa had the chance to take this fight eight months ago but Terence wasn’t as proven (then) as he is now. A lot of times they’ve been well matched. It’s like they’re doing a dance until something happens that people didn’t expect to happen. AW – A couple of days later you are doing your own show at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., which will feature Michael Farenas and Mark Davis in a junior lightweight title eliminator, plus the return of Billy Dib and several of your prospects. Tell us about that show. CJ – That one is interesting, too. Mike Farenas is the first person Gamboa fought after his hiatus from not taking the Brandon Rios fight. He actually knocked Gamboa down in that fight. Mike Farenas can actually punch and Mark Davis is a really talented boxer. His last fight he fought 10 rounds, towards the end of it he was hit a little more than I was comfortable with but he did well. He came out on top and I expect him to put on a show, too. For Mark Davis, conditioning to perform the entire show at the same pace (is important). He hasn’t has had a lot of 10-round bouts so he has to dig in and show everyone what he has. I believe he can win, it’s about how well he conditions himself for it, Mike Farenas is gonna show up come July 2, he’s not gonna not come prepared. Billy’s last (fight), he lost his rematch to (Evgeny) Gradovich for the IBF title. We’ll see how he looks. Outside of that you have Ryan Martin, an exciting prospect, he won in early June, he’ll be back; you have a few other guys we’ve had on the roster who we’ve been waiting to unveil. We keep ‘em active on different shows. AW – What other fighters are under your SMS Promotions banner? CJ – Louis Olivares, Donte Strayhorn; I have 11 fighters under SMS. My gym is probably the best gym in Las Vegas right now, to be honest with you. Everything is state of the art. As far as development we’ve got to create that environment that’s tough for all of them. I’ve got fighters like Ryan Martin, he’s actually sparring with Gamboa, preparing with him, he’s got six pro fights but he went in as a sparring partner. It’s allowing them the experience of working with the top fighters in their weight class. AW – Are you looking to add talent to your roster? CJ – Absolutely. Between now and the end of the year the changes that are going on in the sport of boxing allows me to feel it’s the perfect time for growth. AW – Will you be more active as a boxing promoter? CJ – Following July I’ll be able to do a few things, I’ll be able to set up shows and we’ll be moving a lot faster. We’ve been keeping the fighters active on other cards, so we didn’t have the responsibility of the entire show. To be honest I could make the show without being present and have everyone else do it. Bob (Arum) is not making the show, his staff is; and (Richard) Schaefer (wasn’t) doing it either, his staff was. But I wanted to wait until (I was free to be a part of the promotions), putting everybody back in action on these shows. (We will) at least five more shows before the years up. AW – You have the huge name and the ability to really become a big player in boxing and rival the other big promoters. Is that your plan or is it a hobby? CJ – I enjoy it, personally. I’m not sure I should call it a hobby but I’m actually actively involved. People see me multitasking being involved in different platforms, whether it’s television shows – I just had one premiere on June 7 of “Power” on the Starz network – my album just came out on the 3rd “Animal Ambition,” so I have been busy doing those things but at the same time it’s time for me to get this rolling again with the new excitement and energy connected to my actual brand based on those projects I released. AW – If we go back to your youth, much like many boxers, you know about hardships. Could you share some of those with us? CJ – I grew up in south side of Jamaica, Queens. My mom got killed when I was 8-years old so I lived with my grandparents, because they had nine children. My mom was the only one of my grandmother’s nine children to pass away so I came into their house as the new number nine. To be honest with you, we functioned on my grandfather’s income so you get things when someone’s done with things, like hand-me-downs. It’s because of the lack of finances around. I stumbled and fell into the instant gratification with things that were there in the environment, so I started hustling. From there I found music. My passion for music allowed me to actually do everything you see me do now. It provided me the opportunity and ability to accumulate the finances that allowed me to become someone that can make the investment, alongside the popularity that would make major corporations feel like I’m the person to market their product. AW – Once you became known and a celebrity, life would have changed dramatically. How did you find that coming from where you had? CJ – Oh yeah. I exceeded expectations of everyone around me and myself. My ambition allowed me to continue to work toward accomplishing bigger and better things. I think ambition is a learned behaviour, I think it’s an instinct, I think it’s in some people and others don’t have it. As I acquire new information, I make better information in areas I never actually been involved or been interested in the past. It’s exciting. For me it’s just my journey. Again, like you said, it’s so far from where I started that it’s tough to convince me that I can’t do things that I get into. My role in boxing, me as a promoter, started as a way of me trying to help my friend Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather is the reason why I’m in the sport of boxing. I was trying to help him turn Mayweather Promotions into an actual company.