50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather have officially broken up. The rumors have been out for a few weeks, but nothing's official anymore until it's a part of a Twitter tirade.
I'm no longer apart or down with TMT promotions. SMSaudio
— 50cent (@50cent) November 1, 2012
If anyone wants a money team jacket I'm selling mine for a dollar. The nap back hat comes with it. That's a fare price. SMSaudio
— 50cent (@50cent) November 1, 2012
I move the fighters to SMSpromotion cause the other half of the money team .Didnt put up there $MONEY$.SMSaudio
— 50cent (@50cent) November 1, 2012
Yup, in classic male fashion, this feud falls under the first category of 90 percent of all male-feuds: money (the second being women).
Floyd has seen his share of money problems in the past, essentially coming out of retirement against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2009 to pay off massive IRS tax debts. There aren't any indications that Floyd is short of money, just that 50 said his share wasn't there, and it's hard to believe Mayweather doesn't have it since the pound-for-pound king pulled in around $45 million for his last fight.
For years, 50 and Floyd had seemed to have a great relationship. They were both kings of their respective hills, and enjoyed each other's company for that reason: neither one wanted or needed anything from the other. 50 has rapped Floyd's ring-walks, appeared at press conferences and was a regular during HBO's 24/7 series. 50 even picked his boy up from jail this summer, after Floyd served two months for domestic abuse.
So, what changed besides the weather? We may never know. A small part of me wonders whether this is another boxing stunt; but, with the money being thrown around — particularly to the stellar Yuriorkis Gamboa, who was paid an undisclosed sum, rumored around $1.8 million, by the now-defunct TMT to leave Top Rank and sign with them, which cost Gamboa his a huge fight and payday, only to put Gamboa back on a Top Rank card in December — it seems like this feud is for real.
For now, Floyd will continue to assess his options, with hints dropping left and right — with the right hand being off the record — that the fight with Pacquiao may finally happen in 2012, while 50 Cent continues his promotional business.
But it's unlikely we've seen the end of this. 50 Cent is now on the other side of Floyd's hatred of Top Rank, which will undoubtedly come up during the next round of negociations between the two groups. Plus, Floyd hasn't used his UStream account in awhile. Surely, it's time to crank that back up.
