With the exception of his brief acting career, 50 Cent has been extremely successful in all of his endeavors over the past decade and he has all the necessary skills to become an excellent boxing promoter.
The platinum-selling hip hop artist is the head of SMS Promotions, which represents several boxers, “including Celestino Caballero, Billy Dib, Andre Dirrell and Yuriorkis Gamboa,” according to Jake Emen of Yahoo! Sports.
50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, has been involved with boxing in the past through his longtime friendship with Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, Yahoo! Sports’ David King notes that the two had a falling out after initially agreeing to run a promotion company together.
Now that Jackson is on his own, he will get a chance to use the skills that have made him wildly successful as a rapper and a businessman, and put them to use in his current endeavor.
The key talent a promoter must have is the ability to market a fight. Ramping up excitement and appealing to not just hardcore boxing supporters, but casual fans and those new to the sport is what makes a promoter successful.
50 Cent already has a leg up due to his existing stardom, and his presence at press conferences can only increase interest in a bout.
In addition, he also has vast experience with being a celebrity and dealing with the media. He certainly has charisma and stage presence, and all the aspects of the job that are visible to the public will come naturally to him.
However, the behind the scenes work will prove to be more of a challenge, but Jackson’s success outside of his hip hop career suggests that he has the ability to succeed with the many logistical challenges promoters face when organizing a fight.
His product lines have varied from energy drinks to deodorant, and his most lucrative business venture was his investment in Glaceau, which produces Vitamin Water. Jackson was actively involved in promoting and advertising the product and was given a minority stake in the company. His shares eventually made him a reported $400 million before taxes when Coca-Cola bought the company.
He has first-hand involvement in a company that steadily grew and became wildly successful, and he can take what he learned into his business as a promoter.
Jackson will make his debut as a promoter when his client, Yuriorkis Gamboa, takes on Michael Farenas prior to Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez’ fourth meeting. Regardless of the result, this will be the beginning of a long and successful career.
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