PMNM: K Dot’s DAMN drops, Tank has problems

On the eve of a podcast and Kendrick Lamar’s latest album nears release, then a feud breaks out among some of boxing’s young lions. Let’s rock!

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The latest episode of the Pay Me No Mind podcast coincides with the arrival of DAMN, the fourth studio album from Compton’s Kendrick Lamar. There is officially a follow up to 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly! The intention was to book a guest from one of the few hip hop blogs I read regularly. That guest fell through. As a result, my engineer Jayare – a bonafide producer himself – had to stand in to share his expectations on the anticipated project. We added in some final thoughts on the NBA’s two-man MVP race, we both struggled to pinpoint the moment  when Dallas Mavericks’ shooter Tony Romo became America’s QB, and then I shared a retelling of my latest visit to the barbershop that culminated with the  typical pro-Floyd-TBE boxing discussion that pushed me to the brink of dropping a full “You don’t know ____ about boxing!” Barbershops are havens for casuals lacking all discernment, and I almost had to resort to boxing’s baddest “EMP” family! Almost.

By the way, shout out to Top Dawg Entertainment for another smash.

In addition to K Dot’s DAMN, the boxing world was coming off another impressive dominant performance by Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomanchenko on Saturday night, but then by Monday fight fans were immediately immersed in the underbelly of the hurt business. At the top of the week videos emerged of a typical boxer-boxer confrontation, as Philadelphia’s Tevin Farmer stood chest-to-chest with IBF world junior lightweight champion Gervonta Davis during what looked like the crowd exiting MGM National Harbor after the Lomachenko-Sosa card. Gervonta’s chief weed carrier, no an actually solid cat from Tank’s circle, wisely stepped in to usher Davis away from Farmer as a small crowd began to encircle the pair of fighters.

The gist of that situation was Davis saying something like, “let me take care of my next date (May 20th versus Liam Walsh in London) and then I’ll see whether Mayweather Promotions considers you for my next assignment.”

By Tuesday About Billions Promotions’ namesake, Adrien Broner, is sitting in the driver seat of his vehicle roasting Tank in a scathing Instagram post. Hey, a man needs his “me” time to deal with some of the important parts of adulthood… I used to record podcasts in my car at the nearby park. Broner laid into Davis and once again referred to his big brother Floyd as a “B.A.N.”, adding that Tank was too small to deal with the guy who put him on, and that he could put his hitta Robert Easter, Jr. on him. When did E Bunny become Chris Partlow?

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At any rate, a new installment of Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions versus Adrien Broner and About Billions seemed to be happening, and there was the main topic for the next PMNM.

After interacting with writer Caryn A.Tate (@CarynATate) on Twitter for a month, and reading a couple of her articles on Boxing.com, I didn’t think she was the ideal candidate to unpack the excessivley lit Mayweather-Broner-Davis triangle with, so (starting at 32:35) we spent her first PMNM visit on Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev 2 and ways to improve women’s boxing.

Up next, 2016 Haiti Olympian and Mayweather Promotions signee Richardson Hitchins (@HeIsRichardson) made his first visit to the show (starting at 46:30) to talk about his second pro fight coming up next week, April 22, as part of the Shawn Porter-Andre Berto undercard at Barclays Center. Hitchins, a Brooklyn-born super lightweight, also discussed how he came to represent Haiti in the Olympics, and shares his gratitude towards his career starting on huge stages like March’s CBS-televised Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia welterweight unification fight. Pay Me No Mind is not about “gotcha” moments, but as a young fighter (context?) and being a part of the Mayweather Promotions stable, I did get Hitchins’ reaction to the blow up between AB and Tank. The kid showed some savvy in dealing with negativity!

Cincinnati resident and Ringside Reporter host Eric Lorta (@Ringside73) returned to the podcast (starting at 1:04:07) to discuss all things boxing – and he was exactly my guy for the ongoing beef. I asked Lorta about the foul language involved in the Broner-Davis feud, and whether it was off-putting for him as a non-black boxing fan. The question is a follow up to a discussion I had with Showtime Boxing’s Stephen Espinoza at the Broner-Granados fight, regarding boxing’s challenges with appealing to fans beyond urban America. Bottom-line, Lorta and I got into whether videos like Broner’s IG video hurts the live gate for boxing events, and whether the messages turns away potential sponsors. Lorta’s segment couldn’t all be squandered on the beef, so we did take a quick look at next week’s Porter-Berto match up.

Tonight was scheduled for the third pro fight for the show’s fourth guest, super welterweight Justin “Slick” Hurd (starting at 1:24:55) on the non-televised portion of ShoBox: The New Generation’s Dmitry Bivol-Samuel Clarkson card from MGM National Harbor. Oxon Hill is making a bid to become boxing’s new Mecca! Unfortunately, prior to the time of this posting, Slick (@slick_justinhurd on Instagram) informed fans via Instagram that his fight was canceled. Still, check out how Hurd takes advantage of the trail his brother – IBF world super welterweight champion Jarett “Swift” Hurd – is blazing for the two brothers from Accokeek, MD. Among several other topics, Hurd discussed the awesome deal his parents made with him and Swift to give both young fighters a fair shot to pursue success inside the ring. Click play and hear how the Hurds look at the other brothers in the boxing world such as the world champion Charlo twins or the Barthelemy siblings.

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Lastly, Cincinnati-based southpaw lightweight Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (@JamelHerring) returned (starting at 1:38:08) to chop it up about the latest in boxing. Herring trains at the same gym as Broner and other About Billions fighters, so I had to ask about the scuttlebutt in the gym right now. Herring agreed to appear on the show last week, so the Coram, NY native wasn’t brought on for PMNM to be on some Chatty Kathy stuff! Herring said what he knew and we moved on to Queen City welterweight prospect Jamontay Clark’s February 14th RD7 TKO performance over a durable Gaku Takahashi. Herring fights in Lomachenko’s neighborhood of weight classes, so I asked him about his assessment of Hi-Tech’s vaunted mix of elite boxing skills. Semper Fi hinted at some timing for his next bout, and offered a quick preview of Porter-Berto.

Fam, enjoy the Bivol-Clarkson card later tonight on Showtime Boxing’s ShoBox, and feel free to holler at me with your takes on Cornrow Kenny’s DAMN.  I promise I’ll do something special for any feedback on Twitter (@E_Pluribus_Wood or @PMNMhaven), or feel free to email the show with any questions or comments – paymenomindshow@gmail.com. Let me clarify that, I will choose one person before the next show, and do something special.

Oh yeah, check out the free new ‘GoingFor2’ App at either Apple’s App Store or Google Play. You’ll have access to all of the great Daily Fantasy Sports content the site is known for, as well access to the TalkLoudRadio network of podcasts which includes Pay Me No Mind, Clash of the Nerds Presents (and the WWE-themed spinoff Armbar), and GF2 founder Geoff Lambert’s Press Coverage.[wysija_form id=”11″]

ATTN Dynasty Commissioners: Do you want to do something cool for your league? How about a 1-hour live show dedicated to YOUR league? Team-by-team breakdowns, rankings, and more. For details and to book a show, visit: GoingFor2.com/plp.