50 Cent has reached a legal victory in his fight with former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, who filed a lawsuit to break their promotional agreement. But a federal court has ruled in favor of the rapper and issued an order declaring that Gamboa's promotional agreement with SMS Promotions was still valid.
In legal papers filed in a Connecticut court in October, Gamboa said he attempted to terminate his agreement after only fighting once in 2013 and twice in 2014. He says 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) ignored his requests for a release. Gamboa asked the court to void out the contract, which they refused.
Gamboa said he was promised at least three fights per year as part of their contractual agreement. 50 Cent's lawyers blamed Gamboa for his inactivity.
The Cuban fighter had two fights in 2014. He was knocked out in nine rounds by then WBO world champion Terence Crawford and then came back in November to stop Joel Oca in six rounds in Cancun, Mexico. He was then inactive for nearly one year before coming back as part of an HBO Latino card last December at Turning Stone Casino in New York, where he won a ten round unanimous decision over Hylon Williams.
Gamboa's name has been mentioned as a potential opponent for a variety of fighters in the last few weeks. When he returns, against who, and which weight division, is still unknown. He was considering the possibility of dropping down to super featherweight or even featherweight, but his last bout took place at super feather.
50's SMS Promotions filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Both Ryan Martin and James Kirkland also filed lawsuits to break their contacts.