After serving 60-days of his 90-day domestic battery sentence, 5-division world champ, Floyd Mayweather is now a free man and ready to once again assume his spot atop the American fight scene. Mayweather will also find himself walking into a promotional coup d'etat as 50 Cent's key figure in a possible rise to prominence for the rapper's TMT (The Money Team) Promotions.
With names such as Yuriorkis Gamboa, Andre Dirrell, Andre Berto, Zab Judah, Celestino Caballero, and Billy Dib already attached to The Money Team, the new promotional outfit is definitely a player in the sport. But, obviously, "Money" Mayweather as the central figure of the team would give them some true muscle and immediately make them a main stage boxing presence, alongside Top Rank and Golden Boy.
While 50 Cent was staking his claim to a piece of the boxing game, Mayweather was serving his time at the Clark County Detention Center, so he has yet to issue a statement regarding TMT Promotions and his place within it, but most are expecting the controversial fighter to ally himself with good friend 50 Cent to some degree.
If Mayweather is "all in," things will become very interesting, indeed. But even if the current WBA junior middleweight champ only lends moral support and some minor hands-on participation, the new promotional company could find itself jumping right into the sport's promotional number three spot.
Of course, Mayweather's degree of cooperation in The Money Team and 50 Cent's behind-the-scenes management crew will determine whether the company is a real, long-term boxing force or merely an interesting side gig for a famous rapper.
At this point, though, it may be fair to assume that Mayweather was in on the planning stages of the new company when it was proposed, likely months ago, and that he will also become, at the very least, a hands-on participant and/or full member of TMT Promotions.
What this means to boxing is very clear-- There's a new player in town. And this player has money, name recognition, mainstream media access, and the muscle of America's top boxing name behind it. Like it or not, The Money Team is in the right place at the right time to make some major changes to boxing and to the way promotional companies manipulate the sport.
Some may openly wish for the changes to be for the better, but given the sorry state of boxing's politics and its stifling promotional turf wars, any changes will likely be for the better. Hopefully, Mayweather, 50 Cent, and the rest of The Money Team will avoid some of the cynical business moves that have become standard practice in the industry.
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Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. His work can also be found on Fox Sports and The Boxing Tribune. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.
Source:
Ken Ritter, Mayweather Released From Vegas Jail After Two Months, NBC Chicago
