Fifty's Faux Pas...The After Action Report.

Another week, another undefeated prospect from Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's SMS Promotions goes down in flames. Has the former rapper-turned-promoter been given a deathblow in his ill-fated adventure in boxing promotion? PEDs turn their ugly head in boxing once against as we look over the much too-late outrage over the lack of testing in Crawford/Gamboa. Get your mouthful in this week before Chad Dawson does on this week's After Action Report!


"If I Can't Do It Homie, It Can't Be Done!" 50 Cent Suffers Another Significant Loss.

Last week, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson got the equivalent of a pie in his face as the prized jewel of his fledgling promotion, Yuriorkis Gamboa, got clobbered in nine rounds by Terence Crawford. Hoping to get over the loss of his promotion's top name, he at least had his birthday to look forward to as well as his up and coming prospect Mark Davis face off against Michael Farenas.

Davis, who uses the moniker of "Too Sharp," was about as sharp as a bowling ball last Wednesday as he was also clobbered by the more seasoned Farenas in eight lopsided rounds. The losses suffered by Gamboa and Davis along with the rapid deterioration of Billy Dib has placed Jackson's SMS Promotions in a shocking state, especially when two years ago it seemed that Jackson would make more of an impact.

After burning bridges with Golden Boy Promotions thanks to calling Oscar De la Hoya a girl, and then having a falling out with long time friend Floyd Mayweather after trying to persuade him to leave Al Haymon, Jackson has taken two years to flounder as a promoter. Sure, he went ahead and signed Andre Dirrell, Celestino Caballero and James Kirkland, but of those three, only two of them have fought in the past year.

If there were any questions on whether or not Jackson could live up to the massive hype his arrival to the sport, these past two years climaxing with these past two weeks leaves us very little doubt. Kirkland is the only major fighter left on the roster that hasn't suffered a significant loss, but it might just be around the corner as Kirkland hasn't fought since last December and the word is mum on whether or not we'll see him by years end.

It may have all seemed like a good idea at the time for Jackson, whose success in promoting himself with his music and endorsements have made him rich beyond his wildest dreams. As a boxing promoter though, he's way out of his depth and it's only to the detriment of the fighters he's promoting. 

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs! Let's All Talk About Drugs!

ESPNs Dan Rafael broke a story last week about the lack of drug testing of any kind for the Crawford/Gamboa title fight in Omaha, Nebraska. Naturally, the boxing world went into an uproar and kicked off a week of the sport showing its ugly side in regards to PEDs. Not too long afterwards, former two-division champion Paulie Malignaggi went on a Twitter rampage directed at Manny Pacquiao's unwillingness to comply with random drug testing.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that illegal substances of any kind should be banned and swiftly punished in any professional sport, but to be totally honest...who cares? 

Yes, it's unbelievably irresponsible that the Nebraska commission's protocols didn't involve drug testing but can you blame them? The most publicized fact about that fight was that Omaha hadn't had a fight in over 40 years! A two or three month fight promotion isn't enough time for the commission to restructure their antiquated rules, especially if it'll be once in a full moon like the situation they had last weekend.

Also, why is it that such an intrepid and well resourced reporter like Rafael be breaking this story AFTER the fact? Why weren't other members of the press harping about this foul injustice about to take place? What difference does it make now that the fight is over?

Boxing is an unregulated sport ran by promoters and restricted to the rules of state athletic commissions, who may or may not be up to snuff with their testing. Certain fighters have taken precautions to try and make sure the playing field is as level as can be, but without oversight, how can the onus be on anybody except the greedy promoters and the fighters who depend on said promoters to pay them?

Ironically enough, Gamboa's team were the ones who made the complaint. In between Gamboa's spots of inactivity, he was implicated in the Biogenesis scandal that tied him to a known PED distributor yet failed to suffer any consequences because THERE IS NO DISCIPLINARY BODY in the sport. 

I can go on about other things, but there's no use crying over spilt milk. The only way the PED problem can be minimized is that state athletic commissions must implement  universal regulations in regards to testing methods and disciplinary actions. Otherwise, why make a big deal about it when nobody is listening?

The Furious Flurries

• I like Paulie Malignaggi as much as anybody and I do more or less agree on his stance with Manny Pacquiao, but Malignaggi isn't exactly boxing's white knight here. After denouncing Al Haymon and his corruptible influence, Malignaggi signed with him and fought under him twice. Some guys are just heads or tails it seems.
• The Main Events lawsuit against Adonis Stevenson is becoming more problematic than once thought. Bernard Hopkins appears to be mulling a fight with Sergey Kovalev as the rumors go, but might end up facing mandatory opponent Nadjib Mohammedi instead should Stevenson be unavailable in the coming months.
• Things have been awfully quiet from Golden Boy Promotions. With their heavily derided August 9 card only a month away, they have yet to schedule a show beyond that date. 

Potent Quotables

"I can not say if it happened this way and I don't have proof, but this fight was prepared by Richard Schaefer, who left Golden Boy and aims to make his own company. He knows that if Canelo loses, and has a real chance to lose, Golden Boy sinks. Canelo is the lifeline of Golden Boy." 

-Promoter Tutico Zabala going conspiracy theory on why Alvarez/Lara was made. Zabala, Alvarez's former promoter, is currently engaged in a lawsuit with Golden Boy over Alvarez's promotional rights.