50 Cent gets approval for promoter's license in Nevada for SMS Promotions

Rapper 50 Cent was approved earlier today by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a promoter's license. His fighter Yuriorkis Gamboa was already slated to fight on the undercard of the fourth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8, and that is still going ahead as planned, though the opponent is apparently still to be determined. Miguel Beltran had been mentioned as possibility, but he appears to be out of the running.

50 Cent, also known by his real name Curtis Jackson, already has a license to promote in his home state of New York. His approval in Nevada was really more of a formality, it would have been a surprise had he been turned down.

Unless you're late to the party, you know that 50 Cent will not be promoting with Floyd Mayweather, at least not any time soon. The two have apparently had a falling out, each taunting the other on Twitter. While there is certainly some debate over how real the beef is between the two celebrities, what is real is the fact that Mayweather's name was not mentioned on the application.

Mayweather kinda, sorta has his own promotional company. Mayweather Promotions has never runs its own show, nor even been licensed in any state. Truthfully, it's just been a name on a banner so far, a sort of trophy that Mayweather made for himself so that he can point to something and say he has a promotional company. Any time you have seen a Mayweather Promotions logo at a fight it was likely a Golden Boy show. Because they want to keep their pay-per-view horse happy, they will allow Mayweather to put his banner on things, and continue to work with him for the time being. What will be interesting is what happens after he retires. Will he pursue a legitimate promotional company, or be content with other avenues of business?

50 Cent has already been in talks with Top Rank and Manny Pacquiao. Exactly where their relationship stands is tough to tell, but if he has been feuding with Mayweather and Golden Boy (he also mocked Oscar de la Hoya on Twitter) then that leaves just one major promotional company in the United States to work with. Gamboa was once a Top Rank fighter until he did the infamous no-show at a press conference for his scheduled fight with Brandon Rios. That fight never came off because Gamboa suddenly left Top Rank which resulted in a breach of contract lawsuit from Top Rank.

As of now, SMS Promotion's stable is small. It includes Gamboa, Andre Dirrell, and Billy Dib, none of which is a household name. Nevertheless, by simply filling out an application the company has become more legitimate than a manufactured trophy.