50 Cent, Pacquiao may form Promotion Company

LAS VEGAS - His promotional company might be folding and his friendship with superstar fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. might be fading, but it doesn’t seem that rap star 50 Cent is about to give up on boxing that easily.The high-profile artist, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, now appears on the verge of creating a promotional company with Mayweather’s chief rival, Manny Pacquiao.Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz confirmed he has spoken with Jackson about forming a business together. Koncz said the plan once included Jackson, Pacquiao and Mayweather, though Mayweather’s involvement now is questionable at best.It’s far from a done deal, but in the bizarre world that is professional boxing, a Pacquiao-Jackson promotional company is as likely to happen as not.There is no barrier to entry, and anyone with enough money in the bank and the ability to fill out a few forms can become a promoter. Getting a promoter’s license is as much of a guarantee of success, however, as getting a driver’s license from the DMV is a guarantee of winning the Daytona 500.There is a chance that a Pacquiao-Jackson promotional company could wind up putting on some shows, or even a big show. And it wouldn’t be out of the question for it to last a couple of years, though the smart money would be heavily against that.What is most likely is that Jackson sees the opportunity to promote, or co-promote, a bout involving either Pacquiao or Mayweather (or the two against each other) as a simple way to make a lot of money in a short period of time.The harsh reality of promoting boxing is that it is extremely hard work and that most cards lose money. The likelihood of Jackson being willing to stage a series of money-losing shows that draw no more than a thousand or so fans and receive little attention in order to give young fighters a chance to develop is extremely remote.A promoter has to contend with double-dealing managers, disloyal fighters, leeches looking to make money for doing nothing and an often uneven playing field when it comes to getting TV dates.Jackson would have plenty of juice with the HBOs and Showtimes of the world were he able to promote a Pacquiao or a Mayweather fight.He’d quickly lose that influence, though, when they were no longer fighting.